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Is datacite.org a Scam? Security Check Results - DataCite Reviews

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Is datacite.org Safe? Security Analysis for DataCite

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

EducationUnited Kingdommedium
WordPressYoast SEO pluginjQueryBootstrapFontAwesome+4 more
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 6:58:37 AM
54
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

DataCite is a well-established global non-profit organization founded in 2009, focused on connecting research outputs and advancing knowledge through the provision of DOI registration and metadata services. It serves a broad audience of research organizations, academic institutions, and service providers, positioning itself as a leader in the open science infrastructure space. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and active community engagement. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern frameworks and plugins, ensuring good performance, mobile optimization, and SEO compliance. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and cookie consent mechanisms, though there is room for improvement in DNSSEC and security headers. The domain is privacy protected but consistent with the organization's profile and history, supporting legitimacy. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and aligned with its mission to support open research.

Detected Technologies

WordPressYoast SEO pluginjQueryBootstrapFontAwesomeSiteGround OptimizerContact Form 7tsparticles.jsPlausible Analytics

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

DataCite operates a membership-based business model targeting research and academic sectors, providing essential DOI and metadata services that facilitate research discoverability and reuse. Its competitive advantage lies in its global reach, integration capabilities, and active community initiatives. Revenue streams likely include membership fees and service subscriptions. The organization maintains a strong partnership ecosystem and transparent governance, enhancing its market position. Growth indicators include active blog content, expanding membership, and continuous service development. The company leverages social media and open infrastructure collaborations to strengthen its brand and outreach.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Email Addresses (1)

s*****@datacite.org

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enabled and cookie consent mechanisms in place, reflecting compliance with GDPR and privacy best practices. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options suggests opportunities for enhancement. There is no publicly available security policy or incident response information, which could improve transparency and readiness. Overall, the security maturity is good but could benefit from formalized policies and additional technical controls.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

DataCite

Description:

DataCite is a global community that ensures research outputs and resources are openly available and connected to advance knowledge across disciplines. They support creation and management of DOIs and metadata records, enhance research workflows, and enable discovery and reuse of research outputs.

Key Services:
Create DOIsEnable discovery of research outputsIntegrate workflowsPromote reuseMetadata harvesting
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressYoast SEO pluginjQueryBootstrapFontAwesomeSiteGround OptimizerContact Form 7tsparticles.jsPlausible Analytics
Frameworks:
Bootstrap
Platforms:
WordPress
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner with reject/accept options
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security plugins (e.g., cookie-law-info)

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Plausible Analytics
Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Plausible Analytics
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 well-structured and professionally designed.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

35/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

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

65/100
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

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy0% 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

📧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 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:_spf.intacct.com ~all
DNS Lookups:3/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1296-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:hostmaster@datacite.org

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

72/100
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

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 71 days

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

80/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

DNS Records

A Records:35.207.173.126
Name Servers:
ns-1127.awsdns-12.orgDNS only
ns-1784.awsdns-31.co.ukDNS only
ns-298.awsdns-37.comDNS only
ns-914.awsdns-50.netDNS only
MX Records:
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
10: aspmx3.googlemail.com
1: aspmx.l.google.com
10: aspmx2.googlemail.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
SOA:Serial: 1, TTL: 86400s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:61ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:_spf.intacct.com ~all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

0/100
Score

High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

HIGH

Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

CRITICAL

Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

Critical Service Exposed: PostgreSQL

CRITICAL

Port 5432 (PostgreSQL) is publicly accessible - PostgreSQL - Database server

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using modern technologies including Bootstrap for responsive design, jQuery for scripting, and FontAwesome for icons. It employs SEO best practices via the Yoast SEO plugin and uses Plausible Analytics for privacy-focused user tracking. Hosting is supported by Amazon Registrar with AWS DNS servers, though DNSSEC is not enabled. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. The site uses cookie consent management plugins to comply with privacy regulations. Technical risks are minimal but could be further reduced by enabling DNSSEC and enhancing security headers.
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