Is innovation.ca Safe? Security Analysis for Canada Foundation for Innovation
Check if innovation.ca is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to investing in research infrastructure across universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions in Canada. Positioned as a key national funder, CFI supports innovation and entrepreneurship by providing funding opportunities and managing awards. The website reflects a professional government-related entity with consistent branding and a clear mandate to support Canadian research advancement. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10 and leverages modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager and Hotjar for analytics and user behavior tracking. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and well-structured, providing a good user experience. Performance is moderate with asynchronous loading of scripts. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, it lacks explicit security headers and a vulnerability disclosure policy, which are recommended for enhanced security posture. Privacy compliance is partially addressed with a comprehensive privacy policy, but no cookie consent mechanism is detected. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with strong business credibility and professional content. The absence of WHOIS data for the subdomain is noted but does not detract significantly from trust given the official nature of the site and domain. Strategic improvements in security headers and privacy mechanisms would further strengthen the site’s security and compliance stance.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
CFI operates in the government and non-profit sectors, focusing on funding research infrastructure in education and healthcare-related research institutions. Its business model is grant and award management funded by government allocations. The organization targets academic and research communities across Canada, positioning itself as a critical enabler of innovation and economic growth. The website’s content and structure support transparency and engagement with stakeholders, including researchers and institutions. Partnerships such as the Research Facilities Navigator enhance service offerings. The organization maintains a strong digital presence with official social media channels and a professional website. Growth indicators include ongoing funding competitions and updates on research stories, reflecting active engagement with the research community. The lack of direct contact emails or phone numbers on the homepage suggests a controlled communication approach, likely routed through dedicated contact pages or forms.
Extracted Contact Information
Marketing Intelligence Data
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS and no visible exposure of sensitive information. Use of asynchronous loading for analytics scripts reduces performance impact but requires regular audits to mitigate third-party risks. The absence of security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options is a gap that could expose the site to certain web-based attacks. No vulnerability disclosure or incident response contacts are provided, which limits transparency and readiness for security incidents. Privacy policy coverage is strong, but cookie consent mechanisms are missing, potentially impacting GDPR compliance. Overall, the security posture is good but could be improved with enhanced headers, explicit vulnerability disclosure, and cookie consent implementation.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
Canada Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) invests in research infrastructure at Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
excellent
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- Use of Google Tag Manager and Hotjar scripts asynchronously
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking detected.
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
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
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 48 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
Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled
LOWDomain can be deleted without additional verification
Domain Registration Details
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