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Is dfn.de a Scam? Security Check Results - Verein zur Förderung eines Deutschen Forschungsnetzes e. V. Reviews

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Is dfn.de Safe? Security Analysis for Verein zur Förderung eines Deutschen Forschungsnetzes e. V.

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

EducationGermanymedium
WordPress 6.8.2Yoast SEO pluginContact Form 7Matomo AnalyticsTiny Slider (tns)+2 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 9:45:21 AM
49
Security Score
HIGH RISK

AI Summary

The DFN (Verein zur Förderung eines Deutschen Forschungsnetzes e. V.) operates as a key provider of scientific networking infrastructure in Germany, connecting universities, research institutions, and research-related companies across approximately 850 locations. Their core offering is the X-WiN fiber optic network, supplemented by a suite of communication, security, collaboration, and cloud services tailored for the scientific community. The organization holds a leading position in the German research and education network sector, operating as a non-profit association focused on enabling scientific connectivity and collaboration. Technically, the website is built on a modern WordPress platform with up-to-date plugins such as Yoast SEO and Contact Form 7, and employs Matomo for analytics, indicating a mature digital infrastructure. The site is mobile-optimized, SEO-friendly, and uses modern web standards including lazy loading and CSS grid/flexbox layouts. DNSSEC is enabled, and HTTPS is enforced, reflecting good security hygiene. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates solid fundamentals with encrypted connections and DNS security. However, it lacks explicit HTTP security headers and a cookie consent mechanism, which are important for GDPR compliance and enhanced security posture. No public security or incident response contacts are provided, and no vulnerability disclosure policy is published, which could be improved to strengthen trust and transparency. Overall, the website and domain present a trustworthy and professional front for the DFN association. The domain registration is consistent with the organization's profile, despite limited WHOIS data due to DENIC policies. The site content is safe, relevant, and well-structured, targeting scientific and educational audiences. Strategic improvements in privacy compliance and security transparency would further enhance the organization's digital trustworthiness.

Detected Technologies

WordPress 6.8.2Yoast SEO pluginContact Form 7Matomo AnalyticsTiny Slider (tns)CSS Grid and FlexboxLazy loading images

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

DFN is positioned as a critical infrastructure provider in the German scientific research ecosystem, offering high-capacity network connectivity and specialized services to universities and research institutions. Their non-profit model focuses on enabling research collaboration and data exchange. The organization benefits from a broad membership base and a strong national presence. Their digital presence supports their mission with clear service offerings and active communication channels via newsletters and social media. The lack of direct contact emails or phone numbers on the homepage suggests a controlled communication approach, likely routed through dedicated contact pages. The use of Matomo analytics indicates a preference for privacy-conscious data collection. The organization could explore expanding transparency around security policies and incident response to align with best practices in the research networking sector.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website enforces HTTPS and DNSSEC, which are strong indicators of secure domain and transport layer configurations. The use of Contact Form 7 suggests secure form handling, but no explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options were detected, which could mitigate certain web-based attacks. The absence of a cookie consent banner is a GDPR compliance gap, especially given the use of Matomo analytics. No public security or incident response contact information or vulnerability disclosure policies were found, limiting transparency and responsiveness in case of security incidents. Overall, the security posture is solid but could be enhanced by implementing recommended HTTP headers, publishing security policies, and providing clear incident response contacts.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to enhance protection against common web attacks.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Verein zur Förderung eines Deutschen Forschungsnetzes e. V.

Description:

DFN betreibt und entwickelt die Kommunikationsinfrastruktur für die Wissenschaft in Deutschland, verbindet Hochschulen, Forschungseinrichtungen und forschungsnahe Unternehmen an rund 850 Standorten.

Key Services:
Wissenschaftsnetz X-WiN (fiber optic network)Network and Communication ServicesSecurity, Trust & Identity ServicesCollaboration ServicesCloud Services
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPress 6.8.2Yoast SEO pluginContact Form 7Matomo AnalyticsTiny Slider (tns)CSS Grid and FlexboxLazy loading images
Platforms:
WordPress
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • DNSSEC enabled
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of secure forms (Contact Form 7)

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Matomo
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Matomo
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

30/100
Score

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

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

28/100
Score

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

EU business without adequate privacy measures

CRITICAL

EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

2/100
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

Critical sector without clear security compliance

HIGH

Detected sectors: transport, digital

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

70/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

No DMARC reporting

LOW

DMARC aggregate reports not configured

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 include:_spf.s1004.mx.srv.dfn.de a:deneb.dfn.de include:_spf.dfn-cert.de include:_spft.telekom.com ~all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:s10
DMARC Details
Policy:none

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

75/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Soon

HIGH

SSL certificate expires in 8 days

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:www.dfn.de
Issuer:GEANT OV RSA CA 4
Valid Until:9/13/2025 (8 days)
SANs:www.dfn.de, dfn.de

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

65/100
Score

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:37.208.106.105
AAAA Records:2a00:d0c0:c:2109::11
Name Servers:
ns1.dfn.deDNS only
ns2.dfn.deDNS only
ns3.dfn.deDNS only
MX Records:
10: c1001.mx.srv.dfn.de
10: b1001.mx.srv.dfn.de
10: a1001.mx.srv.dfn.de
SOA:Serial: 1756989062, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:37ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.s1004.mx.srv.dfn.de a:deneb.dfn.de include:_spf.dfn-cert.de include:_spft.telekom.com ~all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

40/100
Score

Service Exposed: SSH

MEDIUM

Port 22 (SSH) is publicly accessible - SSH - Secure but can be brute-forced

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built on WordPress 6.8.2 with modern plugins including Yoast SEO for search engine optimization and Contact Form 7 for form management. It uses Matomo for privacy-focused analytics and employs lazy loading for images to improve performance. The layout uses CSS Grid and Flexbox for responsive design, ensuring good mobile optimization. The site is served over HTTPS with DNSSEC enabled, indicating a secure DNS and transport layer setup. No explicit hosting provider information was found. Performance is moderate with good SEO and basic accessibility features. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, though there is room for improvement in security header implementation and cookie consent management.
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