diff --git a/health/check-records.sh b/health/check-records.sh
index ec09f6e05572aedda76803d0b90e798c9d80f34f..c737a036aa5ac016fed3270ed26cf9e4b728cdd9 100755
--- a/health/check-records.sh
+++ b/health/check-records.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,42 @@
 #
 # requires `curl` and `jq` to be installed
 
+set -eu
+
 base_url="${BASE_URL:-https://test.researchdata.tuwien.ac.at}"
+check_ssl=1
+
+function usage() {
+    echo "usage: $0 [-k] [ BASE_URL ]"
+    echo
+    echo "  -k      Disable SSL verification"
+}
+
+function curl() {
+    if [[ "${check_ssl}" -gt 0 ]]; then
+        command curl "$@"
+    else
+        command curl -k "$@"
+    fi
+}
+
+# parse arguments
+while getopts "hk" opt; do
+    case "${opt}" in
+        h)
+            usage
+            exit 0
+            ;;
+        k)
+            check_ssl=0
+            ;;
+        *)
+            usage >&2
+            exit 1
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+shift $(( OPTIND - 1 ))
 
 if [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; then
     base_url="$1"