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Is eso.org a Scam? Security Check Results - European Southern Observatory

eso.org Security Report Summary

eso.org received a security score of 65 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Moderate Risk". This report covers European Southern Observatory's website security posture. European Southern Observatory operates in the Government industry in N/a.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a leading intergovernmental organization dedicated to astronomical research and the operation of world-class ground-based observatories in the Southern Hemisphere. The website serves as a comprehensive portal for scientific discoveries, public outreach, educational resources, and detailed information about ESO's telescopes and instruments. It targets a broad audience including researchers, educators, students, and astronomy enthusiasts worldwide. The business model is non-profit and government-oriented, focusing on advancing astronomy and related technologies. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, and integrates Matomo analytics for privacy-conscious visitor tracking. It is hosted on CDN77, ensuring fast content delivery and good performance. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, with clear navigation and multilingual support. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, uses CSRF tokens, and implements cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR. While explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy are not confirmed, best practices are largely followed. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, the absence of a public security policy or vulnerability disclosure program is noted. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with strong trust indicators and professional content. The lack of WHOIS data limits domain registration insights but does not detract from the site's legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security header implementation, publishing a security policy, and establishing a vulnerability disclosure channel to further strengthen trust and compliance.

The security scan identified 32 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, Slick Carousel, Matomo Analytics, YouTube Iframe API, Fonts.com.

About this security scan

Guard performs automated security assessments of websites by analyzing SSL/TLS certificates, HTTP security headers, DNS configuration, email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), GDPR compliance indicators, NIS2 directive compliance, network exposure, and AI-powered business intelligence. Each report provides domain-specific findings, risk scores, and actionable recommendations.

eso.org favicon

Is eso.org Safe? Security Analysis for European Southern Observatory

https://eso.org

Check if eso.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

GovernmentN/alarge
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQuerySlick Carousel+3 more
Analyzed 10/31/2025Completed 2:02:11 PM5mo ago
65
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

Below Government avg (70)

10,000+

Domains scanned

500+

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Domaineso.org
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SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

AI Summary

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a leading intergovernmental organization dedicated to astronomical research and the operation of world-class ground-based observatories in the Southern Hemisphere. The website serves as a comprehensive portal for scientific discoveries, public outreach, educational resources, and detailed information about ESO's telescopes and instruments. It targets a broad audience including researchers, educators, students, and astronomy enthusiasts worldwide. The business model is non-profit and government-oriented, focusing on advancing astronomy and related technologies. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, and integrates Matomo analytics for privacy-conscious visitor tracking. It is hosted on CDN77, ensuring fast content delivery and good performance. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, with clear navigation and multilingual support. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, uses CSRF tokens, and implements cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR. While explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy are not confirmed, best practices are largely followed. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, the absence of a public security policy or vulnerability disclosure program is noted. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with strong trust indicators and professional content. The lack of WHOIS data limits domain registration insights but does not detract from the site's legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security header implementation, publishing a security policy, and establishing a vulnerability disclosure channel to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Detected Technologies

HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQuerySlick CarouselMatomo AnalyticsYouTube Iframe APIFonts.com

8 urgent findings need attention

8 high

Continuous monitoring

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Guard tracks your live infrastructure daily: certificate expiry, DNS & mail authentication drift, uptime changes, subdomain inventory, and unexpected tracker or content shifts. A full timeline captures every diff so you can prove remediation and spot regressions instantly.

Security drift alerts

Risk score drops, new high-severity issues, and header hardening gaps

Compliance watch

GDPR / NIS2 posture changes with governance evidence snapshots

Infrastructure surface

Unexpected open services, SSL expiry, DNS & email authentication changes

Content & tracker intelligence

Marketing tech shifts, analytics drift, and AI recommendation updates

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Security Headers

8 findings

25/100

GDPR Compliance

2 findings

73/100

NIS2 Compliance

8 findings

17/100

Email Security

4 findings

75/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

ESO holds a dominant position in the astronomical research sector, operating premier observatories such as the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and ALMA. Its competitive advantage lies in its intergovernmental status, access to cutting-edge technology, and extensive public engagement. Revenue streams are primarily government funding and partnerships. The target customers include scientific communities, educational institutions, and the general public interested in space science. Growth indicators include continuous technological upgrades and active outreach programs. The partnership ecosystem includes collaborations with industry and educational bodies. Operationally, ESO maintains a high standard of professionalism and transparency, reflected in its comprehensive online presence and multilingual content.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

ESO's website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, CSRF protection, and GDPR-compliant cookie management. The use of reCAPTCHA protects forms from spam and abuse. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive information were found. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response plan, or vulnerability disclosure mechanism suggests room for improvement in transparency and readiness. Compliance with GDPR is evident, but additional certifications or frameworks like ISO 27001 are not mentioned. Incident response contact channels are not publicly listed, which could hinder timely communication in case of security events.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement and publish a comprehensive Content-Security-Policy header to mitigate cross-site scripting risks.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

European Southern Observatory

Description:

ESO, European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, is an intergovernmental science and technology organisation focused on ground-based astronomical observatories and research.

Key Services:
Astronomical researchPublic outreach and educationProvision of observatories and telescopesPublishing news, images, videosTechnology transfer and industry collaboration
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQuerySlick CarouselMatomo AnalyticsYouTube Iframe APIFonts.com
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • CSRF token cookie used
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data found
  • Use of reCAPTCHA for forms

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Matomo
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Matomo
Marketing Tools:
Fonts.com
Transparency Level:excellent

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking detected.

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🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

25/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=60;"

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

73/100
Score

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

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
emailphone

🛡️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

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📧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"

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 a:web-app-01.inriva.com ip4:85.184.250.78 include:mail.infrastructure.servers.ptfse.net include:servers.mcsv.net include:spf.protection.outlook.com ip4:134.171.8.115 ip4: 134.171.8.120 ~all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:postmaster@eso.org
Forensic Reports:postmaster@eso.org

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

67/100
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

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

1 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

75/100
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 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

Domain Age
34 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(1747 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:134.171.75.1
Name Servers:
dnsslave1.hq.eso.org
dnsslave1.sc.eso.org
dnsslave2.hq.eso.org
dnsslave2.sc.eso.org
MX Records:
10: eso-org.mail.protection.outlook.com
SOA:Serial: 2025101606, TTL: 300s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:41ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 a:web-app-01.inriva.com ip4:85.184.250.78 include:mail.infrastructure.servers.ptfse.net include:servers.mcsv.net include:spf.protection.outlook.com ip4:134.171.8.115 ip4: 134.171.8.120 ~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

How does eso.org compare?

See how eso.org stacks up against similar websites in the same industry.

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built on a solid technical foundation using standard web technologies and libraries, ensuring compatibility and ease of maintenance. Performance is optimized through CDN usage and asynchronous loading of scripts. The integration of Matomo analytics reflects a commitment to privacy. The site is responsive and accessible, supporting multiple languages and providing rich multimedia content. There is no evidence of legacy or vulnerable libraries. Opportunities exist to modernize security headers and improve documentation of security practices. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports the organization's mission effectively with minimal technical debt.
Professional PDF & Marketing Data

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PDF Report & Export

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Marketing Intelligence

Contact emails, phone numbers & warm leads

49.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Plan Comparison

FeaturePDF ReportMarketing+
Full security analysis
Professional PDF export
Email delivery
Lifetime access + unlock code
Contact emails & phones
Marketing outreach data

Already purchased?

Order summary

Domaineso.org
Access tierFull report or marketing add-on

Digital reports are delivered immediately after payment. By continuing you acknowledge the withdrawal waiver described in our Returns & Refunds policy.

VisaMastercardApple PayGoogle Pay

Secure payments processed via EveryPay. Prices in EUR; Incl. 21% VAT.

SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

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