Leverstraat Mobile
Companies are increasingly applying internet standards
Today, CBS shared an addition to the study into the application of internet standards for company websites . Per company size class and industry, the extent to which Dutch companies use (secure) internet standards for their websites and e-mail has been mapped out. Positive news: the average final score of the website scan of all companies with a website has increased by almost 8% in 2.5 years. It is striking that the 'Horeca' industry has the highest average final scores in both the website scans and the e-mail scans.
Final website scan score not dependent on company size
Almost 80% of Dutch companies with 2 or more employees have a website. To gain insight into the security level of these websites, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) investigates the use of internet standards on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the Internet Standards Platform .
Via Internet.nl it is possible to perform a website scan, which extensively tests whether various important internet standards have been implemented on your website. This test results in a final score. Statistics Netherlands shows that the average final score increases over the years. The Cybersecurity Monitor notes that small companies often take fewer measures than large companies to secure their ICT systems, but when applying internet standards it is striking that small companies do just as well, if not better, than large companies.
Companies are increasingly applying internet standards
Hospitality industry excels in average final website scan score
The figure above shows the average final score per industry over the years, with a double measurement being carried out in 2023. It is striking that the 'Horeca' industry is one of the standouts. For example, with an average score of 70.8%, this industry scores better than 'Health and Social Care'. The sector 'Rental and trading of real estate' scores the least well on average with 60.9%. Within the 'Financial Services' industry, relatively much attention was paid to implementing security standards for their websites in the past year, and they improved their score by almost 10 percentage points.
Final email scan scores decreased in most industries in 2024
In addition to websites, the Internet.nl scan also tests whether mail servers and internet connections meet modern security standards. The results of the e-mail scan - just like the website scan - do not appear to depend on company size, but do depend on industry. The 'Horeca' industry also performed best in the e-mail scan, with an average of 63.1%. In more than half of the industries, the final scores have fallen in 2024 compared to 2023, with the largest decline in the Construction industry. Financial services are an exception to this, with an increase of almost 19 percentage points. However, because two scans of the email have only been carried out (in April 2023 and January 2024), no long-term trend development can yet be demonstrated.
Email Security Test: Major Differences Between Small and Large
The scores on Internet.nl are determined based on various standards. For example, security options are examined, the application of a domain name signature ( DNSSEC ), HTTPS , and the use of IPv6. The research shows that the score of large companies in the IPv6 category is decreasing. Small companies with 2 to 10 employees score substantially better on the application of DNSSEC than large companies, 27.9% compared to 8.8% for companies with 50 to 250 employees.
In the authentication subcategory, it is striking that large companies score much better than small companies and self-employed persons. This category looks at how well companies try to prevent email scams – such as phishing and spoofing – by applying DMARC, DKIM and SPF.
Get started yourself
Are you curious whether your website and emails comply with more than 30 internet standards? Enter your website address and email domain on Internet.nl and view your score. Not yet 100%? Then get started with the improvements. View the links at the bottom of this news item for explanations and advice.
Companies are increasingly applying internet standards
Secure digital business
As an entrepreneur or security manager, would you like to receive notifications of serious cyber threats to companies in your mailbox? Then join the DTC Community .
To support entrepreneurs, there is also a wide range of cybersecurity information and a toolbox with cyber tools . Want to test whether you already have the basics in order? Take the CyberSafe Check for self-employed persons and SMEs or the Basic Cyber Resilience Scan .