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Is escholarship.org a Scam? Security Check Results - University of California / California Digital Library Reviews

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Is escholarship.org Safe? Security Analysis for University of California / California Digital Library

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

EducationUnited Stateslarge
ReactMatomo AnalyticsGoogle AnalyticsMathJaxAWS DNS hosting
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 12:31:31 AM
63
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

eScholarship is a well-established open access publishing platform and institutional repository managed by the University of California and the California Digital Library. It serves UC researchers and the public by providing free access to scholarly publications and research outputs. The platform offers comprehensive publishing tools including editorial and peer review systems, supporting a broad range of academic content. Technically, the website is built using modern frameworks such as React, integrates analytics tools like Google Analytics and Matomo, and is hosted on AWS infrastructure. The site is mobile optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and domain protections in place, though DNSSEC is not enabled and some security headers are missing. Privacy compliance is strong with clear policies and cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and serves an important educational mission.

Detected Technologies

ReactMatomo AnalyticsGoogle AnalyticsMathJaxAWS DNS hosting

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The University of California operates eScholarship as a non-profit, subsidized platform to support open access scholarly communication. Its market position is strong within academic and research communities, particularly within the UC system. The business model focuses on providing free publishing and repository services to UC affiliates, enhancing research visibility and impact. The platform supports a large volume of content and views, indicating significant usage and engagement. Partnerships with the California Digital Library and integration with UC campuses strengthen its ecosystem. The platform's strategic focus on open access aligns with broader academic trends and public mission goals.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enabled and domain registration protections such as clientDeleteProhibited status. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which could improve DNS security. No explicit security headers were detected in the HTML content, suggesting room for improvement in HTTP header security controls. The use of third-party analytics scripts introduces some privacy considerations, but cookie consent mechanisms and privacy policies are in place, indicating GDPR awareness. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were identified. Incident response and security policy documents are not publicly found, which could be enhanced for transparency and readiness.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

University of California / California Digital Library

Description:

eScholarship is an open access publishing platform and institutional repository subsidized and managed by the University of California and the California Digital Library. It provides open access publishing services for journals, monographs, conference proceedings, and repository services for UC researchers to share scholarly output.

Key Services:
Open access publishing platformInstitutional repository servicesEditorial and peer review systemProfessional support and consulting
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
ReactMatomo AnalyticsGoogle AnalyticsMathJaxAWS DNS hosting
Frameworks:
React
Platforms:
Web SPA (Single Page Application)
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enabled
  • ClientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited domain statuses

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsMatomo
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Matomo
Transparency Level:basic

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 professionally managed academic open access platform.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

55/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

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

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

88/100
Score

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: energy, transport, digital

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

85/100
Score

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.protection.outlook.com include:mailcontrol.com -all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector2(1416-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine0
Aggregate Reports:cqghfdqa@ag.us.dmarcian.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

0/100
Score

Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

CRITICAL

Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

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

DNS Records

A Records:3.174.113.105, 3.174.113.16, 3.174.113.42, 3.174.113.112
Name Servers:
ns-138.awsdns-17.comDNS only
ns-1513.awsdns-61.orgDNS only
ns-1651.awsdns-14.co.ukDNS only
ns-882.awsdns-46.netDNS only
MX Records:
0: escholarship-org.mail.protection.outlook.com

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:mailcontrol.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 uses a modern React-based SPA architecture with integration of MathJax for mathematical rendering and analytics tools including Google Analytics and Matomo. Hosting is managed via Amazon Registrar with AWS DNS services. The site is mobile responsive and accessible, with good SEO meta tags and Open Graph data. Performance is moderate, likely due to SPA complexity and analytics scripts. The absence of CMS detection suggests a custom or proprietary platform. Technical debt appears low, but enabling DNSSEC and security headers would reduce risk. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a robust and scalable academic publishing platform.
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