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Is dhsi.org a Scam? Security Check Results - Electronic Textual Cultures Lab Reviews

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Is dhsi.org Safe? Security Analysis for Electronic Textual Cultures Lab

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

EducationCanadasmall
jQueryBootstrapFont AwesomeOwl CarouselMagnific Popup+1 more
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 5:38:45 AM
55
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI) is an established educational organization focused on providing courses, workshops, and events in the field of digital humanities. Founded in 2007 and operated by the Electronic Textual Cultures Lab in Canada, DHSI targets academics, researchers, and students interested in digital culture and humanities research. The website reflects a professional educational institute with a consistent brand and clear navigation. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Bootstrap, and various UI libraries. Hosting appears to be managed through secure.openum.ca, with GoDaddy as the domain registrar. The site is mobile optimized and uses HTTPS, though some security enhancements such as DNSSEC and security headers could be improved. Performance is moderate with good mobile responsiveness. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and implements a cookie consent mechanism compliant with GDPR, linking to comprehensive privacy and terms of service pages hosted by Université de Montréal. However, no explicit security policy, incident response contacts, or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are publicly available. DNSSEC is not enabled, and security headers are not detected, suggesting room for improvement. Overall, the website is trustworthy and safe, with no adult or questionable content. The domain registration data is consistent with the business identity and history, supporting legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include enhancing DNS security, adding security headers, and publishing security policies to improve transparency and trust.

Detected Technologies

jQueryBootstrapFont AwesomeOwl CarouselMagnific PopupGoogle Analytics (via UdeM)

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

DHSI operates as a niche educational provider specializing in digital humanities, serving a specialized academic audience. Its market position is supported by a long domain history and affiliation with the Electronic Textual Cultures Lab. The business model centers on offering paid courses, workshops, and events, supplemented by scholarships and partnerships. The website's partnership ecosystem includes Université de Montréal-related domains, indicating institutional support. Growth indicators include regular event announcements and course proposals. The absence of direct contact details on the main site suggests a focus on institutional rather than direct consumer engagement.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The current security posture is moderate. HTTPS is enforced, and cookie consent is implemented with granular user controls, reflecting good privacy compliance. However, the absence of DNSSEC, security headers, and explicit security policies limits the security maturity. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is provided, which could hinder rapid response to security events. The use of third-party scripts and analytics is transparent but should be regularly audited. Overall, the site demonstrates basic security hygiene but would benefit from formalizing security governance and enhancing technical controls.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC on the domain to protect against DNS spoofing and improve domain security.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Electronic Textual Cultures Lab

Description:

The Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI) offers educational courses and events focused on digital humanities, targeting scholars, students, and professionals interested in digital culture and humanities research.

Key Services:
Educational coursesWorkshopsConferencesScholarships
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jQueryBootstrapFont AwesomeOwl CarouselMagnific PopupGoogle Analytics (via UdeM)
Frameworks:
ForceRouge
Platforms:
WordPress
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

basic

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Client-side domain status prohibiting deletion, transfer, update
  • Cookie consent banner with management options

Analytics & Tracking

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

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

15/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

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

68/100
Score

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 Policy85% 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: transport, digital

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

60/100
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

No email authentication configured

CRITICAL

Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

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

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

42/100
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 57 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

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

TLSv1.2TLSv1.3TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

75/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

No DMARC Record

MEDIUM

DMARC policy not configured

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
18 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(609 days)
Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:35.183.143.156
Name Servers:
ns27.domaincontrol.com
ns28.domaincontrol.com
SOA:Serial: 2025011602, TTL: 600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:89ms

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 uses a WordPress CMS with a custom theme (ForceRouge) and integrates multiple front-end libraries including jQuery, Bootstrap, Owl Carousel, and Font Awesome. Hosting is managed through secure.openum.ca with domain registration via GoDaddy. The site loads moderately fast and is mobile responsive. However, the lack of DNSSEC and security headers indicates some technical debt in security hardening. The cookie consent mechanism is well implemented, reflecting compliance with privacy regulations. Opportunities exist to modernize security configurations and improve SEO and accessibility standards.
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