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Is hbs.edu a Scam? Security Check Results - Harvard Business School Reviews

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Is hbs.edu Safe? Security Analysis for Harvard Business School

Check if hbs.edu is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationUnited Stateslarge
ReactNext.jsGoogle Tag ManagerCloudinary
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 9:10:32 AM
61
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Harvard Business School is a prestigious educational institution specializing in business management education, offering a range of programs including MBA, Doctoral, Executive Education, and Online courses. The school is globally recognized for its rigorous research, immersive learning experiences, and extensive alumni network. The website reflects a mature digital presence with modern technologies such as React and Next.js, optimized for performance, accessibility, and SEO. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and security headers implemented, though explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly detailed. Privacy and cookie policies are present and indicate GDPR compliance. Overall, the site projects high professionalism and trustworthiness consistent with the Harvard brand.

Detected Technologies

ReactNext.jsGoogle Tag ManagerCloudinary

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The institution targets prospective students, academics, and business professionals worldwide, leveraging a cohort-based learning model and thought leadership to maintain market leadership in business education. Revenue streams likely include tuition, executive education fees, and online course sales. The partnership ecosystem includes Harvard Business Review and affiliated Harvard domains. The website's comprehensive content and clear navigation support strong user engagement and brand loyalty. The lack of WHOIS data is typical for .edu domains but slightly reduces transparency.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Phone Numbers (3)

042*****
010*******
032*****

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, multiple security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, the absence of a public security policy, incident response plan, and vulnerability disclosure program represents an area for improvement. No security.txt or dedicated security contact information was found, which could enhance incident handling and trust. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear policies and consent mechanisms.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response information page to enhance transparency.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Harvard Business School

Description:

Harvard Business School is a leading global business education institution offering MBA, Doctoral, Executive Education, and Online programs. It focuses on immersive, cohort-based learning and research to educate leaders who make a difference worldwide.

Key Services:
MBA ProgramDoctoral ProgramsExecutive EducationOnline Certificate CoursesResearch and Publications
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
ReactNext.jsGoogle Tag ManagerCloudinary
Frameworks:
Next.js
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

excellent

SEO:

excellent

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with proper labeling

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Tag Manager
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

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 fully accessible with rich content and navigation.

🛡️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

35/100
Score

No Privacy Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

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

Third-party services without privacy policy

HIGH

Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy0% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️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 ip4:199.94.19.0/24 ip4:199.94.20.0/24 ip4:128.103.0.0/16 ip4:198.245.85.88 ip4:3.236.169.128/27 ip4:3.236.67.96/27 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:spf1.hbs.edu ~all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector2(1296-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:re+nzdeoemcot0@dmarc.postmarkapp.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

82/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

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 Enabled

📊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

Domain Registration Details

Expiry Risk
low(326 days)

DNS Records

A Records:128.103.124.107
Name Servers:
ns1-38.azure-dns.comDNS only
ns2-38.azure-dns.netDNS only
ns3-38.azure-dns.orgDNS only
ns4-38.azure-dns.infoDNS only
MX Records:
0: hbs-edu.mail.protection.outlook.com
SOA:Serial: 1, TTL: 300s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:222ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:199.94.19.0/24 ip4:199.94.20.0/24 ip4:128.103.0.0/16 ip4:198.245.85.88 ip4:3.236.169.128/27 ip4:3.236.67.96/27 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:spf1.hbs.edu ~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 framework (Next.js) with server-side rendering and optimized asset loading via Cloudinary. Google Tag Manager is used for analytics and marketing. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly with comprehensive metadata and Open Graph tags. No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary solution. Performance appears fast with preloading and deferred scripts. The technical stack supports scalability and a rich user experience but should maintain vigilance on third-party dependencies for security.
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