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Is dfg.de a Scam? Security Check Results - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Reviews

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Is dfg.de Safe? Security Analysis for Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Check if dfg.de is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

GovernmentGermanylarge
CoreMedia Content CloudAlpine.jsCloudflare CDNHighchartsjQuery+5 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 6:00:02 PM
67
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) is a prominent German research funding organization dedicated to supporting scientific research and innovation. The website serves as a comprehensive portal for researchers, academic institutions, and policy makers, offering detailed information on funding opportunities, scientific awards, and international collaboration. The organization holds a leading position in Germany's research funding landscape, operating as a non-profit entity with a focus on advancing science and education. Technically, the website is built on the CoreMedia Content Cloud CMS and leverages modern JavaScript frameworks like Alpine.js, along with reputable third-party services such as Cloudflare CDN, OneTrust for cookie management, and Gigya for identity management. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, although performance is moderate. Security measures include HTTPS and a Content-Security-Policy header, albeit with some allowances that could be tightened for enhanced protection. From a security perspective, the site maintains a solid posture with no evident vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, the Content-Security-Policy permits 'unsafe-inline' and 'unsafe-eval', which could be improved to reduce cross-site scripting risks. Privacy compliance is moderate due to the absence of explicit privacy and cookie policies in the provided content. The domain registration and DNS configuration align well with the organization's identity, reinforcing trustworthiness. Overall, the DFG website is a professional, trustworthy, and content-rich platform that effectively serves its target audience. Strategic improvements in privacy disclosures and security headers would further enhance its compliance and security stature.

Detected Technologies

CoreMedia Content CloudAlpine.jsCloudflare CDNHighchartsjQueryGoogle FontsOneTrust (cookie consent)Podigee (podcast player)Gigya (customer identity management)SAP Content Delivery

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

DFG holds a dominant market position as Germany's central research funding organization, focusing on non-profit scientific advancement. Its business model revolves around grant funding, supporting research projects, and fostering international scientific cooperation. The organization targets researchers, universities, and scientific bodies, providing a broad portfolio of funding programs and awards. The website reflects a mature digital presence with integration of multiple partner portals and active social media engagement. Growth indicators include diverse funding initiatives and strategic partnerships. The ecosystem includes specialized portals like GEPRIS and GERiT, enhancing service delivery and transparency.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforcement and a Content-Security-Policy header that restricts resource loading to trusted domains. However, the policy's allowance of 'unsafe-inline' and 'unsafe-eval' scripts introduces a moderate risk of cross-site scripting attacks. No sensitive data leakage or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. The absence of additional security headers such as X-Frame-Options or Referrer-Policy suggests room for improvement. Incident response and security policy information are not explicitly provided, indicating potential gaps in transparency. Overall, the site maintains a good security baseline but would benefit from enhanced header configurations and clearer security governance disclosures.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Strengthen the Content-Security-Policy by removing 'unsafe-inline' and 'unsafe-eval' directives to mitigate XSS risks.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Description:

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) is a German research funding organization supporting science and research in Germany. It provides funding opportunities, supports scientific projects, and promotes international cooperation in research.

Key Services:
Research fundingGrant programsScientific awardsInformation on research policiesSupport for international collaboration
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
CoreMedia Content CloudAlpine.jsCloudflare CDNHighchartsjQueryGoogle FontsOneTrust (cookie consent)Podigee (podcast player)Gigya (customer identity management)SAP Content Delivery
Frameworks:
CoreMediaAlpine.js
Platforms:
Cloudflare
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
80/100
Best Practices:
  • Strict Content-Security-Policy with multiple trusted domains
  • Use of HTTPS
  • No visible exposed sensitive data
  • No inline scripts without nonce or hash but allows 'unsafe-inline' and 'unsafe-eval' in CSP which is a moderate risk
  • Use of reputable third-party services

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
LinkedIn AnalyticsOneTrust
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
linkedin.comsprinklr.commailworx.marketingsuite.info
Marketing Tools:
GigyaOneTrustMailworx
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:excellent
User Experience:excellent
Content Relevance:excellent
Navigation Clarity:excellent
Professionalism:excellent
Trustworthiness:high

Key Observations

1

Website is professionally designed and well-structured

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

80/100
Score

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

Sensitive data may be cached

LOW

Cache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

88/100
Score

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy85% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

17/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

75/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

Strict DMARC Alignment

LOW

Strict alignment may cause legitimate emails to fail

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 ip4:193.104.82.0/24 ip4:83.143.0.155 ip4:62.146.140.213 ip4:83.143.6.29 ip4:83.143.6.30 ip4:35.242.247.107 ip4:34.107.8.58 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector2(1296-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Subdomain Policy:quarantine
Aggregate Reports:ixuk8vwo@ag.eu.dmarcian.com
Forensic Reports:abuse@dfg.de

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

42/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 43 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

27 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

50/100
Score

Unregistered MX Record

HIGH

MX record points to unregistered domain: mx.dfg.de

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Transfer Lock Not Enabled

MEDIUM

Domain can be transferred without authorization

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Protection Level
none
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • No domain protection locks enabled

DNS Records

A Records:217.19.13.128
Name Servers:
dns-1.dfn.de
dns-2.dfn.de
dns-3.dfn.de
MX Records:
40: mx.dfg.de
10: dfg-de.mail.protection.outlook.com
SOA:Serial: 2005092592, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:145ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:193.104.82.0/24 ip4:83.143.0.155 ip4:62.146.140.213 ip4:83.143.6.29 ip4:83.143.6.30 ip4:35.242.247.107 ip4:34.107.8.58 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website leverages a robust technical infrastructure based on CoreMedia Content Cloud CMS and modern JavaScript frameworks like Alpine.js. It integrates multiple third-party services for content delivery, identity management, analytics, and cookie consent. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with a well-structured navigation system. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by the extensive use of external resources and scripts. The use of reputable CDNs and security headers contributes positively to the site's reliability and security. Opportunities exist to optimize performance further and modernize security configurations to align with best practices.
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