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Is cuny.edu a Scam? Security Check Results - The City University of New York Reviews

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Is cuny.edu Safe? Security Analysis for The City University of New York

Check if cuny.edu is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationUnited Statesenterprise
WordPressjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsSlider Revolution+8 more
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 6:48:42 AM
64
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The City University of New York (CUNY) is a large public university system serving New York City with 25 colleges offering a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional education programs. It holds a prominent position as the largest urban public university system in the United States, targeting students, faculty, researchers, and the public interested in higher education. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and consistent branding aligned with its educational mission. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern plugins and integrations including Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and various social media pixels for marketing and analytics. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and performs moderately well, leveraging industry-standard technologies and frameworks. Privacy and cookie policies are present with consent mechanisms, indicating good compliance with data protection regulations. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, employs multiple security headers, and shows no signs of exposed sensitive data or vulnerabilities in the visible content. However, the absence of a public vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file and limited incident response contact visibility suggest areas for improvement. The WHOIS data is unavailable due to .edu domain registry policies, but this is typical and does not detract from the domain's legitimacy. Overall, the website demonstrates a strong security posture, professional design, and compliance with privacy standards, making it a trustworthy digital asset for the university. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security transparency, maintaining up-to-date software, and improving incident response communications.

Detected Technologies

WordPressjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsSlider RevolutionWPBakery Page BuilderFormstackLinkedIn Insight TagPinterest scriptsTwitter Universal Website TagFacebook PixelReddit PixelBrowseAloud accessibility tool

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

CUNY operates as a public educational institution funded by government and tuition revenues, serving a diverse urban population. Its market positioning as the largest urban public university system provides competitive advantages in scale and breadth of offerings. The business model focuses on delivering accessible higher education, research opportunities, and professional development. Revenue streams primarily include tuition, government funding, and donations. The target customer segments include undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and research partners. The university maintains partnerships with various service providers for administrative and educational tools, reflecting a robust ecosystem. Growth indicators include ongoing digital initiatives such as AI academic hubs and online education expansion. The website's comprehensive content and clear navigation support its operational transparency and outreach efforts.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Email Addresses (3)

i*****@cuny.edu
p*****@cuny.edu
h*****@cuny.edu

Phone Numbers (2)

+1212997****
+1212997****

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no visible exposure of sensitive data. The use of modern security practices and integration of analytics and marketing pixels is balanced with privacy compliance measures. However, the lack of a public vulnerability disclosure policy and limited incident response contact information indicate gaps in security transparency and readiness. There is no evidence of malware or phishing indicators. The site would benefit from publishing a security.txt file and enhancing incident response visibility to improve trust and preparedness. Overall, the security culture appears proactive but could be strengthened with formalized disclosure and response mechanisms.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a publicly accessible vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

The City University of New York

Description:

A public university system in New York City comprising 25 colleges offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional education.

Key Services:
Undergraduate educationGraduate educationResearch programsContinuing and professional educationOnline education
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsSlider RevolutionWPBakery Page BuilderFormstackLinkedIn Insight TagPinterest scriptsTwitter Universal Website TagFacebook PixelReddit PixelBrowseAloud accessibility tool
Frameworks:
WPBakery Page Builder
Platforms:
WordPress
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with proper input types

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsGoogle Tag Manager
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Twitter Ads
Tracking Pixels:
Facebook PixelLinkedIn Insight TagPinterest TagReddit Pixel
Marketing Tools:
Formstack
Transparency Level:good

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a large, professionally maintained university portal.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

30/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

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

58/100
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

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

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

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

70/100
Score

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

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:%{ir}.%{v}.%{d}.spf.has.pphosted.com ~all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:~all
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:dmarc_rua@emaildefense.proofpoint.com
Forensic Reports:dmarc_ruf@emaildefense.proofpoint.com

🏆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

85/100
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 Registration Details

Expiry Risk
low(326 days)

DNS Records

A Records:128.228.254.200
Name Servers:
acme.ucc.cuny.eduDNS only
ext-ns1.columbia.eduDNS only
lavinia.cis.cuny.eduDNS only
ns10.customer.level3.netDNS only
ns15.customer.level3.netDNS only
MX Records:
10: mxa-00011d01.gslb.pphosted.com
10: mxb-00011d01.gslb.pphosted.com
SOA:Serial: 2024102048, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:338ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:%{ir}.%{v}.%{d}.spf.has.pphosted.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 is built on WordPress CMS using WPBakery Page Builder and Slider Revolution for content management and presentation. It integrates multiple third-party analytics and marketing tools including Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Pinterest, Twitter, and Reddit pixels. The site uses jQuery and modern JavaScript libraries, with responsive design and accessibility features implemented. Performance is moderate, with room for optimization in loading speed. The hosting provider is not explicitly identified. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, supporting a large-scale educational portal with diverse content types and user interactions.
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