Is plymouth.ac.uk Safe? Security Analysis for University of Plymouth
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AI Summary
The University of Plymouth website serves as the digital presence for a large UK-based educational institution focused on advancing knowledge and transforming lives through higher education and research. The site targets prospective and current students, researchers, and the academic community, offering information about courses, research programs, and student services. The website demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure with modern technologies such as AWS Cloudfront CDN, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and Cookiebot for privacy compliance and user experience enhancement. The use of Ruby on Rails is implied by the presence of CSRF tokens, indicating a robust backend framework. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced, cookie consent mechanisms, and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, explicit security headers could be more clearly implemented and documented. Privacy compliance is well addressed with a comprehensive cookie policy and GDPR-aligned consent management. The absence of WHOIS data limits domain registration insights, but the overall professionalism and trust indicators suggest legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security header implementation, publishing incident response and security policies, and adding a vulnerability disclosure mechanism to further strengthen trust and compliance.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
The University of Plymouth holds a solid market position as a reputable UK university offering a broad range of academic programs and research opportunities. Its business model centers on education and research services, targeting students and academic professionals. The website reflects a consistent branding strategy and leverages partnerships with service providers like Unibuddy and Formtitan for enhanced user engagement. Revenue streams likely include tuition fees, research grants, and partnerships. The digital presence indicates a focus on user experience and compliance, with extensive use of analytics and marketing tools. Growth indicators include active social media engagement and modern web technologies. The partnership ecosystem includes cookie management and analytics providers, supporting operational efficiency and regulatory adherence.
Extracted Contact Information
Marketing Intelligence Data
Physical Addresses (2)
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website exhibits a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, cookie consent management, and CSRF protection. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analyzed content. The use of multiple analytics and marketing scripts is managed with user consent, aligning with privacy regulations. However, explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options were not explicitly found and should be implemented to mitigate risks like clickjacking and MIME sniffing. The lack of publicly available security policies and incident response information suggests room for improvement in transparency and preparedness. Overall, the site balances usability and security effectively but could enhance its security maturity by adopting additional best practices and publishing relevant policies.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Implement and explicitly configure security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
University of Plymouth
Welcome to the University of Plymouth, advancing knowledge, transforming lives.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
excellent
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Cookie consent banner with granular controls
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- Use of CSRF tokens
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenge
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Weak X-XSS-Protection configuration
LOWCurrent value: "0"
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
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
Complex SPF record
LOWToo many include statements can cause lookup limits
No BIMI Record
LOWBIMI displays brand logos in email clients
No MTA-STS Policy
MEDIUMMTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery
SPF Details
DKIM Selectors Found
DMARC Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
Weak Protocols Supported
HIGHServer supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1
OCSP Stapling Not Enabled
LOWOCSP stapling improves performance and privacy
Certificate Transparency Not Implemented
LOWCertificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Protocol Support
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 Transfer Lock Not Enabled
MEDIUMDomain can be transferred without authorization
Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled
LOWDomain can be deleted without additional verification
Domain Registration Details
- •No domain protection locks enabled
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
Additional Findings
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