Is dataverse.org Safe? Security Analysis for The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Check if dataverse.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
The Dataverse Project is an established open source research data repository software initiative affiliated with Harvard University. It serves a broad academic audience including researchers, journals, institutions, and developers by providing tools for data management, sharing, and preservation. The project is positioned as a leading platform in the academic data repository space with a strong community and institutional backing. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 7 with OpenScholar, leveraging modern web fonts, MathJax for math rendering, and Akamai CDN for performance. Google Tag Manager is used for analytics. The site is mobile optimized and has good navigation and content relevance. Security posture is moderate with HTTPS enabled and domain protections in place, but lacks DNSSEC and security headers. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing explicit privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and safe for general audiences.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
The Dataverse Project operates as an important entity within the education sector, focusing on open source software for research data management. Its business model revolves around community-driven development and institutional adoption rather than direct commercial sales. The project benefits from Harvard's reputation and a global network of users and contributors. Key competitive advantages include its open source nature, integration capabilities, and strong academic credibility. The target customers are academic researchers, journals enforcing data policies, institutions seeking federated data solutions, and developers contributing to or integrating with the platform. Growth indicators include active blog updates, community calls, and a visible roadmap. Partnerships with organizations like DataCite and the Global Dataverse Community Consortium enhance its ecosystem.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level. HTTPS is properly implemented, and domain registration includes EPP protections to prevent unauthorized changes. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security reduces the overall security posture. No explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are published, which could impact readiness for security events. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms are missing, indicating compliance gaps with GDPR and related regulations. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the provided content. The use of older Drupal 7 CMS may pose some risks if not regularly patched. Overall, the security culture appears cautious but could be improved with formal policies and technical enhancements.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
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
The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Open source research data repository software enabling researchers, journals, institutions, and developers to manage, share, and preserve research data.
good
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
good
basic
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enabled
- Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited and other EPP protections
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is a well-established academic open source project affiliated with Harvard.
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration
LOWCurrent value: "max-age=15768000"
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
Missing X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
Missing Permissions-Policy header
MEDIUMControls browser features and APIs
Sensitive data may be cached
LOWCache-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
No Privacy Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy
No Cookie Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires clear information about cookie usage
No Cookie Consent Banner found
HIGHGDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies
Third-party services without privacy policy
HIGHDetected services: Google Analytics, Twitter, Cloudflare, Google APIs
GDPR Compliance Analysis
🛡️NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.
NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive
No information security framework found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures
No vulnerability disclosure policy
MEDIUMNIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure
No security policy documentation found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management
No incident response procedures found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans
No business continuity planning found
MEDIUMNIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity
No security contact information
HIGHNIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels
No vulnerability reporting mechanism
MEDIUMClear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure
No NIS2 reference found
LOWConsider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts
Critical sector without clear security compliance
HIGHDetected sectors: energy, transport, banking, digital
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
No DKIM record found
MEDIUMDKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails
No BIMI Record
LOWBIMI displays brand logos in email clients
No MTA-STS Policy
MEDIUMMTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery
No TLS-RPT Record
LOWTLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues
SPF Details
DMARC Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
Weak Protocols Supported
HIGHServer supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1
OCSP Stapling Not Enabled
LOWOCSP stapling improves performance and privacy
Certificate Transparency Not Implemented
LOWCertificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs
SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days
MEDIUMSSL certificate expires in 39 days
Weak SSL Key Length
HIGHSSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak
Mixed Content Detected
MEDIUM18 resources loaded over insecure HTTP
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Protocol Support
OCSP Status
📊DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment.
DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment
DNSSEC Not Enabled
MEDIUMDNSSEC is not configured for this domain
CAA Records Not Configured
LOWCertificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found
Domain Registration Details
- •Privacy/proxy registration detected
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
DNS Performance
SPF Analysis
⚡Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis.
Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis
Good Network Security Posture
LOWNo unnecessary services detected on common risky ports
🔧Technical Analysis
Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.
Technical Analysis
Comprehensive security assessment findings