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Is saylor.org a Scam? Security Check Results - Saylor Academy

saylor.org Security Report Summary

saylor.org received a security score of 67 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Moderate Risk". This report covers Saylor Academy's website security posture. Saylor Academy operates in the Education industry in United States.

Saylor Academy is a well-established nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free and open online education globally. With over 2.4 million students served, it offers a broad catalog of college and professional level courses designed by experts. The organization partners with recognized universities to facilitate college credit transfer and graduate degree pathways, enhancing its market position as a leader in accessible education. Technically, the website is built on a modern WordPress CMS platform with a robust tech stack including Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and reCAPTCHA for security. The site demonstrates good performance, mobile optimization, and SEO practices, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure suitable for its audience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and employs security best practices such as reCAPTCHA and Jetpack security features. However, it lacks some HTTP security headers and does not publish a security policy or vulnerability disclosure, which could be improved to enhance trust and compliance. Overall, the website presents a low risk profile with strong legitimacy indicators, professional content, and transparent business practices. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing a security.txt file, and improving cookie consent mechanisms to further strengthen privacy compliance and user trust.

The security scan identified 29 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: WordPress 6.8.2, jQuery 3.7.1, Popper.js, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, reCAPTCHA v3, Site Kit by Google, Jetpack, Contact Form 7, SiteOrigin Panels.

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.

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Is saylor.org Safe? Security Analysis for Saylor Academy

https://saylor.org

Check if saylor.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationUnited Statesmedium
WordPress 6.8.2jQuery 3.7.1Popper.jsGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag Manager+5 more
Analyzed 7/25/2025Completed 2:39:51 AM8mo ago
67
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

Above Education avg (55)

10,000+

Domains scanned

500+

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Domainsaylor.org
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SEQ SIA

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

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

AI Summary

Saylor Academy is a well-established nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free and open online education globally. With over 2.4 million students served, it offers a broad catalog of college and professional level courses designed by experts. The organization partners with recognized universities to facilitate college credit transfer and graduate degree pathways, enhancing its market position as a leader in accessible education. Technically, the website is built on a modern WordPress CMS platform with a robust tech stack including Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and reCAPTCHA for security. The site demonstrates good performance, mobile optimization, and SEO practices, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure suitable for its audience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and employs security best practices such as reCAPTCHA and Jetpack security features. However, it lacks some HTTP security headers and does not publish a security policy or vulnerability disclosure, which could be improved to enhance trust and compliance. Overall, the website presents a low risk profile with strong legitimacy indicators, professional content, and transparent business practices. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing a security.txt file, and improving cookie consent mechanisms to further strengthen privacy compliance and user trust.

Detected Technologies

WordPress 6.8.2jQuery 3.7.1Popper.jsGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerreCAPTCHA v3Site Kit by GoogleJetpackContact Form 7SiteOrigin Panels

9 urgent findings need attention

9 high

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

Keep saylor.org 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

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Security Headers

5 findings

60/100

GDPR Compliance

4 findings

53/100

NIS2 Compliance

9 findings

2/100

Email Security

4 findings

85/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Saylor Academy operates in the education and non-profit sectors, targeting students and lifelong learners worldwide. Its business model focuses on free course delivery supported by partnerships with universities for credit transfer and degree programs. The organization benefits from a strong partnership ecosystem including Southern New Hampshire University, Western Governors University, Texas A&M University system, Purdue Global, University of the People, and Tecnológico de Monterrey. These partnerships enhance credibility and provide pathways for learners to earn recognized credentials. The nonprofit status and Creative Commons licensing support its mission of accessible education. Growth indicators include recent news updates and expanding certificate offerings with continuing education units.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a good security posture with mandatory HTTPS, use of Google reCAPTCHA v3 to protect forms, and Jetpack security features. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options represents an area for improvement. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact limits transparency for security researchers and users. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file was found, which could hinder responsible vulnerability reporting. Overall, the security maturity is solid but could benefit from enhanced transparency and header configurations.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement and enforce Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options HTTP headers to improve security.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Saylor Academy

Description:

Saylor Academy is a nonprofit initiative offering free and open online courses to learners worldwide. They provide 150+ full-length college and professional level courses built by subject matter experts, accessible at any time and free of cost.

Key Services:
Free online coursesCollege credit transfer partnershipsProfessional development certificatesGraduate degree pathways
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPress 6.8.2jQuery 3.7.1Popper.jsGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerreCAPTCHA v3Site Kit by GoogleJetpackContact Form 7SiteOrigin Panels
Frameworks:
WordPress CMS
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA v3 for forms
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security plugins (Jetpack)

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsJetpack StatsWordPress.com Stats
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Google AdSense
Tracking Pixels:
Jetpack StatsWordPress.com Stats
Marketing Tools:
Site Kit by Google
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 no blocking or WAF challenges.

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🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

60/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=15552000; preload"

Weak X-Frame-Options configuration

LOW

Current value: "SAMEORIGIN, SAMEORIGIN"

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)

Weak Referrer-Policy configuration

LOW

Current value: "same-origin"

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

53/100
Score

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

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

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

2/100
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

Critical sector without clear security compliance

HIGH

Detected sectors: transport, banking, digital

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📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

85/100
Score

Strict DMARC Alignment

LOW

Strict alignment may cause legitimate emails to fail

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 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net include:mail.zendesk.com include:spf.catalyst-ca.net -all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine
Aggregate Reports:devops+dmarc@saylor.org
Forensic Reports:devops+dmarc_forensics@saylor.org

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

65/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 79 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:saylor.org
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:10/12/2025 (79 days)
SANs:saylor.org, *.saylor.org

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

85/100
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 Registration Details

Domain Age
29 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(expired)
Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:172.66.40.200, 172.66.43.56
AAAA Records:2606:4700:3108::ac42:28c8, 2606:4700:3108::ac42:2b38
Name Servers:
rose.ns.cloudflare.com
todd.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
1: aspmx.l.google.com
10: aspmx5.googlemail.com
2: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
2: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
2: aspmx2.googlemail.com
5: aspmx3.googlemail.com
8: aspmx4.googlemail.com
SOA:Serial: 2378058612, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:74ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net include:mail.zendesk.com include:spf.catalyst-ca.net -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 saylor.org compare?

See how saylor.org 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 is powered by WordPress 6.8.2 with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Popper.js, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and reCAPTCHA v3. It uses SiteOrigin Panels for layout and Contact Form 7 for forms. Hosting appears to be behind Cloudflare, providing CDN and security benefits. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well implemented with Yoast SEO plugin and structured data (JSON-LD) for enhanced search engine understanding. The site uses multiple external resources and social media integrations, indicating a mature digital presence. Technical debt appears low, but security header implementation could be improved.
Professional PDF & Marketing Data

Download the saylor.org report as PDF

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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

Domainsaylor.org
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

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