Is hackthenorth.com Safe? Security Analysis for Hack the North
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AI Summary
Hack the North is a well-established Canadian hackathon event that attracts over 1,000 students globally to participate in a 36-hour in-person hackathon hosted at the University of Waterloo. The event offers workshops, mentorship, and resources to empower students to build innovative projects. The website demonstrates a mature digital presence with a modern React-based tech stack, fast performance, and mobile optimization. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and domain transfer protection, though improvements are needed in security headers and privacy compliance documentation. The business is credible with strong industry partnerships and a consistent brand image. Overall, the site is professional and trustworthy but should enhance privacy and security transparency to meet compliance standards.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
Hack the North holds a leading position in the Canadian and global hackathon market, leveraging partnerships with major tech companies and educational institutions. Its business model centers on event organization supported by sponsorships and community engagement. The target audience is primarily students interested in technology and innovation. The event's growth is supported by a diverse sponsor ecosystem including Y Combinator, Shopify, and Amazon. The organization demonstrates strong operational maturity with a focus on inclusivity and educational impact. Revenue streams likely include sponsorships and partnerships. The company has maintained consistent branding and a strong reputation since its founding in 2013.
Extracted Contact Information
Marketing Intelligence Data
Email Addresses (2)
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website employs HTTPS and Cloudflare DNS services, providing a secure baseline. The domain is protected with clientTransferProhibited status, reducing risk of unauthorized transfers. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security represents an area for improvement. No vulnerability disclosures or incident response contacts are published, which could hinder rapid response to security incidents. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the security posture is moderate but can be enhanced by adopting best practices and transparency measures.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Enable DNSSEC to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
Hack the North
Hack the North is Canada's biggest hackathon, an in-person event held at the University of Waterloo, bringing together 1,000+ students globally to build software and hardware projects over 36 hours with mentorship, workshops, and resources.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
fast
excellent
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Domain status clientTransferProhibited
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is a professional, well-designed event site for Hack the North hackathon.
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration
LOWCurrent value: "max-age=15552000; includeSubDomains; preload"
Missing X-Frame-Options header
HIGHPrevents clickjacking attacks
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 Cookie Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires clear information about cookie usage
No Cookie Consent Banner found
HIGHGDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies
No Data Protection Officer mentioned
LOWLarge organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR
Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant
MEDIUMPrivacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements
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, health, digital
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
DMARC not enforcing
MEDIUMDMARC policy is set to "none"
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
DKIM Selectors Found
DMARC Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days
MEDIUMSSL certificate expires in 71 days
Weak SSL Key Length
HIGHSSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Certificate Details
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
DMARC Policy Set to None
LOWDMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
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