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Is dal.ca a Scam? Security Check Results - Dalhousie University

dal.ca Security Report Summary

dal.ca received a security score of 65 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Moderate Risk". This report covers Dalhousie University's website security posture. Dalhousie University operates in the Education industry in Canada.

Dalhousie University is a well-established, research-intensive public university in Canada, offering a wide range of degree programs and serving a diverse student body. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and professional branding. The technical infrastructure leverages Adobe Experience Manager CMS and integrates multiple modern analytics and marketing tools, indicating a high level of digital maturity. Security posture is generally strong with HTTPS and no visible vulnerabilities, though improvements could be made in security headers and cookie consent mechanisms. The absence of WHOIS data limits domain registration trust analysis but does not detract from the overall legitimacy of the institution. Privacy and terms of use policies are clearly presented, supporting compliance efforts.

The security scan identified 30 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Facebook Pixel, TikTok Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM).

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.

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Is dal.ca Safe? Security Analysis for Dalhousie University

https://dal.ca

Check if dal.ca is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationCanadalarge
Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsMicrosoft ClarityFacebook PixelTikTok Pixel+2 more
Analyzed 7/26/2025Completed 10:05:49 AM8mo ago
65
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

Above Education avg (55)

10,000+

Domains scanned

500+

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Domaindal.ca
Access tierFull report or marketing add-on

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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

AI Summary

Dalhousie University is a well-established, research-intensive public university in Canada, offering a wide range of degree programs and serving a diverse student body. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and professional branding. The technical infrastructure leverages Adobe Experience Manager CMS and integrates multiple modern analytics and marketing tools, indicating a high level of digital maturity. Security posture is generally strong with HTTPS and no visible vulnerabilities, though improvements could be made in security headers and cookie consent mechanisms. The absence of WHOIS data limits domain registration trust analysis but does not detract from the overall legitimacy of the institution. Privacy and terms of use policies are clearly presented, supporting compliance efforts.

Detected Technologies

Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsMicrosoft ClarityFacebook PixelTikTok PixelLinkedIn Insight TagAdobe Experience Manager (AEM)

9 urgent findings need attention

9 high

  • + 1 more findings in the full report below
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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

6 findings

45/100

GDPR Compliance

4 findings

53/100

NIS2 Compliance

9 findings

2/100

Email Security

4 findings

75/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Dalhousie University holds a strong market position as one of Canada's top research universities, targeting prospective and current students, faculty, and researchers. Its business model focuses on education, research, and community engagement. The university's digital ecosystem includes multiple partner domains supporting alumni relations, online learning, and HR functions. The website content and structure support effective communication of academic programs, research initiatives, and campus life, reinforcing its brand and outreach. The presence of extensive tracking and advertising tools suggests active marketing and recruitment efforts.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website employs HTTPS and integrates trusted analytics and marketing scripts, reflecting a baseline secure environment. However, the lack of explicit security headers and absence of incident response or security policy pages indicate areas for enhancement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The security score is good but could be improved by implementing recommended headers and formalizing security policies. Privacy compliance is supported by clear policies but lacks visible cookie consent mechanisms, which is a compliance gap.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

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

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Dalhousie University

Description:

Dalhousie University is a research-intensive university located in Nova Scotia, Canada, offering over 300 degree programs across 13 faculties. It serves approximately 21,000 students with campuses in Halifax, Truro, and satellite locations in Yarmouth and Saint John.

Key Services:
Undergraduate and graduate degree programsResearch and innovation initiativesCampus life and student servicesAlumni relations and donor engagement
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsMicrosoft ClarityFacebook PixelTikTok PixelLinkedIn Insight TagAdobe Experience Manager (AEM)
Frameworks:
Adobe Experience Manager
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of secure external analytics and tracking scripts

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft ClarityFacebook PixelTikTok PixelLinkedIn Insight Tag
Tracking Level:extensive
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Google AdsTikTok AdsFacebook AdsLinkedIn AdsThe Trade Desk
Tracking Pixels:
TikTok PixelFacebook PixelLinkedIn Insight TagMicrosoft Clarity
Marketing Tools:
Adobe Experience Manager
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 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

45/100
Score

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

53/100
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

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: energy, transport, banking, health, digital

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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 mx ip4:64.50.144.0/20 ip4:192.254.116.40/32 ip4:204.63.190.0/23 ip4:64.26.130.132/32 ip4:204.152.104.16 ip4:204.152.100.16 ip4:129.173.20.18/32 ip4:216.147.222.12/30 ip4:168.245.110.178 ip4:149.72.132.190/32 ip4:209.87.231.8/32 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:a._spf.brightspace.com include:_spf.explore-blue.com ip4:205.201.128.0/20 ip4:198.2.128.0/18 ip4:148.105.8.0/21 ~all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:selector1(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:selector2(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:mail(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:dmarcreports@dal.ca
Forensic Reports:postmaster@dal.ca

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

82/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

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 Enabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

80/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

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
24 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(1545 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:129.173.31.187
Name Servers:
ns1.d-zone.ca
ns2.d-zone.ca
MX Records:
0: dal-ca.mail.protection.Outlook.Com
SOA:Serial: 1250725624, TTL: 900s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:57ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 mx ip4:64.50.144.0/20 ip4:192.254.116.40/32 ip4:204.63.190.0/23 ip4:64.26.130.132/32 ip4:204.152.104.16 ip4:204.152.100.16 ip4:129.173.20.18/32 ip4:216.147.222.12/30 ip4:168.245.110.178 ip4:149.72.132.190/32 ip4:209.87.231.8/32 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:a._spf.brightspace.com include:_spf.explore-blue.com ip4:205.201.128.0/20 ip4:198.2.128.0/18 ip4:148.105.8.0/21 ~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 dal.ca compare?

See how dal.ca 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 Adobe Experience Manager CMS, indicating a robust enterprise-grade content management platform. It uses multiple third-party analytics and marketing technologies including Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, Facebook Pixel, TikTok Pixel, and LinkedIn Insight Tag. The site is mobile optimized with good accessibility and SEO practices. Performance appears moderate, likely due to the volume of external scripts. No broken elements or errors were detected in the HTML content. The technical stack supports a scalable and maintainable digital presence but should be monitored for script load impact and privacy compliance.
Professional PDF & Marketing Data

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PDF Report & Export

PDF download, email delivery, unlock code

39.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

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

Domaindal.ca
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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