Skip to main content

Is lancaster.ac.uk a Scam? Security Check Results - Lancaster University

lancaster.ac.uk Security Report Summary

lancaster.ac.uk received a security score of 53 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Elevated Risk". This report covers Lancaster University's website security posture. Lancaster University operates in the Education industry in United Kingdom.

Lancaster University is a well-established higher education institution in the United Kingdom, recognized as a top 10 UK university with strong international rankings. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs, targeting prospective students, current students, staff, and international audiences. Its business model centers on education, research, and community engagement, supported by global partnerships and online learning platforms. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content and clear navigation tailored to diverse user groups. Technically, the website employs modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery, Foundation framework, and Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices and performance rated as moderate. The CMS appears custom or proprietary, with no common open-source CMS detected. The site uses HTTPS with strong SSL configuration, but lacks some advanced security headers. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good practices including cookie consent mechanisms and secure cookie attributes. However, it lacks a publicly available security policy, incident response information, and vulnerability disclosure channels. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy compliance is strong, with GDPR-aligned cookie consent and a comprehensive privacy policy. Overall, Lancaster University’s website is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, reflecting the institution’s reputable market position. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing security policies, and providing vulnerability disclosure information to further strengthen trust and compliance.

The security scan identified 27 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: jQuery 3.5.1, Google Tag Manager, Adobe Accessible Mega Menu, Slick Carousel, Foundation 6.5.3, Custom JavaScript.

About this security scan

Guard performs automated security assessments of websites by analyzing SSL/TLS certificates, HTTP security headers, DNS configuration, email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), GDPR compliance indicators, NIS2 directive compliance, network exposure, and AI-powered business intelligence. Each report provides domain-specific findings, risk scores, and actionable recommendations.

lancaster.ac.uk favicon

Is lancaster.ac.uk Safe? Security Analysis for Lancaster University

http://lancaster.ac.uk

Check if lancaster.ac.uk is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationUnited Kingdomlarge
jQuery 3.5.1Google Tag ManagerAdobe Accessible Mega MenuSlick CarouselFoundation 6.5.3+1 more
Analyzed 6/21/2025Completed 7:48:31 PM9mo ago
53
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

Below Education avg (55)

10,000+

Domains scanned

500+

Security teams trust us

EveryPay

Secure checkout

Instant

Reports delivered

Professional PDF & Marketing Data

Get the professional PDF report for lancaster.ac.uk

Export this security analysis as a professional PDF document, receive it via email, and access marketing intelligence data including contact emails and phone numbers. One-time purchase for lifetime access.

PDF Report & Export

PDF download, email delivery, unlock code

39.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Marketing Intelligence

Contact emails, phone numbers & warm leads

49.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Plan Comparison

FeaturePDF ReportMarketing+
Full security analysis
Professional PDF export
Email delivery
Lifetime access + unlock code
Contact emails & phones
Marketing outreach data

Already purchased?

Order summary

Domainlancaster.ac.uk
Access tierFull report or marketing add-on

Digital reports are delivered immediately after payment. By continuing you acknowledge the withdrawal waiver described in our Returns & Refunds policy.

VisaMastercardApple PayGoogle Pay

Secure payments processed via EveryPay. Prices in EUR; Incl. 21% VAT.

SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

AI Summary

Lancaster University is a well-established higher education institution in the United Kingdom, recognized as a top 10 UK university with strong international rankings. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs, targeting prospective students, current students, staff, and international audiences. Its business model centers on education, research, and community engagement, supported by global partnerships and online learning platforms. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content and clear navigation tailored to diverse user groups. Technically, the website employs modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery, Foundation framework, and Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices and performance rated as moderate. The CMS appears custom or proprietary, with no common open-source CMS detected. The site uses HTTPS with strong SSL configuration, but lacks some advanced security headers. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good practices including cookie consent mechanisms and secure cookie attributes. However, it lacks a publicly available security policy, incident response information, and vulnerability disclosure channels. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy compliance is strong, with GDPR-aligned cookie consent and a comprehensive privacy policy. Overall, Lancaster University’s website is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, reflecting the institution’s reputable market position. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing security policies, and providing vulnerability disclosure information to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Detected Technologies

jQuery 3.5.1Google Tag ManagerAdobe Accessible Mega MenuSlick CarouselFoundation 6.5.3Custom JavaScript

9 urgent findings need attention

3 critical · 6 high

  • + 1 more findings in the full report below
Continuous monitoring

Keep lancaster.ac.uk under constant watch

Guard tracks your live infrastructure daily: certificate expiry, DNS & mail authentication drift, uptime changes, subdomain inventory, and unexpected tracker or content shifts. A full timeline captures every diff so you can prove remediation and spot regressions instantly.

Security drift alerts

Risk score drops, new high-severity issues, and header hardening gaps

Compliance watch

GDPR / NIS2 posture changes with governance evidence snapshots

Infrastructure surface

Unexpected open services, SSL expiry, DNS & email authentication changes

Content & tracker intelligence

Marketing tech shifts, analytics drift, and AI recommendation updates

25 €
per month · billed securely via EveryPay
Less than 1 € / day — cheaper than a single incident response hour

Cancel anytime. Alerts sent to the contacts you choose. Unlock the full report to view historical timelines and alerts.

Purchase to access the monitoring timeline, JSON diffs, alert history, and PDF export for lancaster.ac.uk.

Security Headers

6 findings

50/100

GDPR Compliance

3 findings

58/100

NIS2 Compliance

8 findings

5/100

Email Security

2 findings

75/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Lancaster University holds a strong market position as a leading UK educational institution with a large student body and extensive research activities. Its competitive advantages include high rankings, comprehensive course offerings, and a strong reputation for student satisfaction. Revenue streams likely include tuition fees, research grants, and philanthropic donations. The university targets domestic and international students, staff, and research collaborators. Growth indicators include expanding online learning and global partnerships. The partnership ecosystem includes portals and international language sites, supporting a broad engagement strategy. Operationally, the university maintains a consistent brand and professional digital presence aligned with its academic mission.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, secure cookie handling, and a user-friendly cookie consent mechanism. The absence of advanced security headers and public security policies represents an area for improvement. No visible vulnerabilities or sensitive data exposures were found. The site does not provide explicit incident response contacts or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, which could limit rapid response to security issues. Overall, the security culture appears adequate but could benefit from increased transparency and formalized security communications.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement comprehensive security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Lancaster University

Description:

Lancaster University is among the best in the UK. A Top 15 university in the UK league tables, also highly ranked internationally such as QS World Rankings.

Key Services:
Undergraduate coursesPostgraduate coursesPostgraduate researchResearch servicesStudent support and wellbeingGlobal partnershipsOnline learning
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jQuery 3.5.1Google Tag ManagerAdobe Accessible Mega MenuSlick CarouselFoundation 6.5.3Custom JavaScript
Frameworks:
Foundation
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced (canonical URLs use https)
  • Cookie consent mechanism with opt-in/out
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of SameSite=strict for consent cookies

Analytics & Tracking

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

Advertising & Marketing

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 professionally designed with comprehensive content for multiple audiences.

Get this report delivered to your inbox

Receive a summary of the lancaster.ac.uk security findings by email. Quick and easy to share with decision makers.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

50/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=3600"

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

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

58/100
Score

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

No HTTPS encryption

CRITICAL

GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

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

5/100
Score

No HTTPS encryption

CRITICAL

NIS2 requires appropriate technical measures including encryption

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 NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

Need this report as a PDF?

Download the complete lancaster.ac.uk security analysis as a professional PDF. Share it with your team, clients, or stakeholders.

📧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 DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

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 ip4:148.88.65.128/28 ip4:148.88.65.24/29 ip4:148.88.67.250 ip4:148.88.82.55 include:spf.protection.outlook.com ?all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:?all
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:dmarc-reports@lancaster.ac.uk
Forensic Reports:dmarc-reports@lancaster.ac.uk
MTA-STS Details

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

0/100
Score

No HTTPS Encryption

CRITICAL

Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

50/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Transfer Lock Not Enabled

MEDIUM

Domain can be transferred without authorization

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Weak SPF Policy

HIGH

SPF record has permissive policy allowing any server to send email

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
28 years(mature)
Protection Level
none
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • No domain protection locks enabled

DNS Records

A Records:148.88.65.80
AAAA Records:2001:630:80:2ff::80:1
Name Servers:
ns1.lancs.ac.ukDNS only
ns1.mythic-beasts.comDNS only
ns2.lancs.ac.ukDNS only
ns3.ja.netDNS only
ns3.lancs.ac.ukDNS only
MX Records:
20: mh-fa-1.lancs.ac.uk
10: mh-fa-0.lancs.ac.uk
10: mh-is-0.lancs.ac.uk
20: mh-is-1.lancs.ac.uk
SOA:Serial: , TTL: 604800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:128ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:148.88.65.128/28 ip4:148.88.65.24/29 ip4:148.88.67.250 ip4:148.88.82.55 include:spf.protection.outlook.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

How does lancaster.ac.uk compare?

See how lancaster.ac.uk stacks up against similar websites in the same industry.

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website infrastructure is built on a modern JavaScript stack including jQuery, Foundation framework, and slick carousel for UI components. Google Tag Manager is used for analytics and marketing tags, indicating a mature approach to data collection and marketing integration. The site is mobile responsive and accessible, with good SEO metadata and structured navigation. Performance is moderate, suggesting room for optimization. The CMS is likely custom-built, which may require dedicated maintenance resources. Technical risks include reliance on third-party scripts and absence of some security headers, which should be addressed to reduce attack surface.
Professional PDF & Marketing Data

Download the lancaster.ac.uk report as PDF

Get the complete analysis in a shareable PDF format, delivered instantly to your email with lifetime access.

PDF Report & Export

PDF download, email delivery, unlock code

39.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Marketing Intelligence

Contact emails, phone numbers & warm leads

49.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Plan Comparison

FeaturePDF ReportMarketing+
Full security analysis
Professional PDF export
Email delivery
Lifetime access + unlock code
Contact emails & phones
Marketing outreach data

Already purchased?

Order summary

Domainlancaster.ac.uk
Access tierFull report or marketing add-on

Digital reports are delivered immediately after payment. By continuing you acknowledge the withdrawal waiver described in our Returns & Refunds policy.

VisaMastercardApple PayGoogle Pay

Secure payments processed via EveryPay. Prices in EUR; Incl. 21% VAT.

SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

Scan your own website

Liked the lancaster.ac.uk report? Run the same comprehensive security analysis on your domain — free, instant, and no sign-up required.

Or browse our directory of >10,000 scanned websites.

⭐ Verified Community Reviews

What others say about lancaster.ac.uk

Share your experience to help others make informed decisions. We verify every review by email and publish it once our moderation team approves it.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

out of 5

0 reviews published

Loading reviews…

How did we do?

Your feedback directly shapes our roadmap. Rate the quality of this report, leave an optional comment, and let us know if you want our security specialists to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.

Analyze Another Website