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Is sfu.ca a Scam? Security Check Results - Simon Fraser University Reviews

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Is sfu.ca Safe? Security Analysis for Simon Fraser University

Check if sfu.ca is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationCanadalarge
jQueryGoogle Tag ManagerFacebook PixelTwitter Universal Website TagVimeo Player+1 more
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 6:47:04 AM
60
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a prominent Canadian public university with a strong focus on research, education, and community engagement. The website reflects its market position as a leading comprehensive university in Canada, emphasizing innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity. The institution targets a broad audience including prospective and current students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the general public. SFU offers a wide range of academic programs, campus services, and research initiatives, supported by a well-structured and content-rich digital presence. Technically, the website is built on Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), leveraging modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and integrating multiple analytics and marketing tools including Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and Twitter Tag. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, although some improvements in performance and security headers could be made. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, it lacks explicit security headers and a cookie consent mechanism, which are important for compliance and user trust. The absence of WHOIS data is due to privacy protection by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), which is justified for a large educational institution. No signs of malicious activity or vulnerabilities were detected. Overall, SFU's website is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, supporting its reputation as a leading university. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, implementing cookie consent for GDPR compliance, and publishing clear security and incident response policies to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Detected Technologies

jQueryGoogle Tag ManagerFacebook PixelTwitter Universal Website TagVimeo PlayerYouVisit Virtual Tour Embed

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

SFU holds a strong market position as the #1 Canadian comprehensive university and ranks highly globally for innovation and sustainability. Its business model centers on providing quality education, research, and community services. Revenue streams likely include tuition, government funding, research grants, and donations. The university targets diverse customer segments including domestic and international students, faculty, alumni, and community partners. The website's extensive content and event calendar indicate active engagement and growth. Partnerships with government and accreditation bodies reinforce its credibility. The digital presence supports recruitment, community outreach, and brand building effectively.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The security posture is mature with HTTPS enforced and no visible sensitive data leaks. The use of multiple tracking and marketing scripts is balanced with privacy policies, though cookie consent is missing. Lack of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options is a gap. No vulnerability disclosures or incident response contacts are published, which could be improved. The WHOIS privacy protection is appropriate and does not raise suspicion. Overall, the site is secure but could enhance transparency and compliance measures.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

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

Company:

Simon Fraser University

Description:

As Canada’s engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change.

Key Services:
Undergraduate and Graduate AdmissionPrograms and FacultiesLearning Support and Continuing EducationCommunity Engagement and Campus ServicesResearch and Innovation
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jQueryGoogle Tag ManagerFacebook PixelTwitter Universal Website TagVimeo PlayerYouVisit Virtual Tour Embed
Frameworks:
LiveWhale (event calendar)
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of async loading for scripts

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsFacebook PixelTwitter AnalyticsLinkedIn Analytics
Tracking Level:extensive
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
BurstingPipe
Tracking Pixels:
Facebook PixelTwitter Universal Website TagLinkedIn Insight TagGoogle Analytics (via GTM)
Marketing Tools:
Facebook PixelTwitter TagLinkedIn Insight
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 fully accessible with rich content and multimedia

🛡️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

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
emailphone

🛡️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 ip4:142.58.29.42/32 ip4:142.58.232.0/23 ip4:142.58.200.0/24 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:_spf.e-activist.com include:_spf.emailcampaigns.net include:_spf.salesforce.com ?all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:?all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector1(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:selector2(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:re+stv1ghm9let@dmarc.postmarkapp.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

72/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 58 days

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 Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

60/100
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 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
24 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(864 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:142.58.226.71, 142.58.103.17, 142.58.103.137, 142.58.103.55
Name Servers:
ns1.sfu.ca
ns2.sfu.ca
ns3.sfu.ca
MX Records:
10: proofpoint2.sfu.ca
10: proofpoint3.sfu.ca
10: proofpoint4.sfu.ca
10: proofpoint5.sfu.ca
SOA:Serial: 2025082502, TTL: 86400s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:214ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:142.58.29.42/32 ip4:142.58.232.0/23 ip4:142.58.200.0/24 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:_spf.e-activist.com include:_spf.emailcampaigns.net include:_spf.salesforce.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

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website uses Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) as its CMS, indicating a robust enterprise-grade platform. It integrates multiple JavaScript libraries and third-party services for analytics, marketing, and multimedia content delivery. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with a clear navigation structure and rich multimedia content. Performance is moderate, with opportunities to optimize script loading and caching. The technical stack is modern but could benefit from enhanced security configurations and privacy compliance features. Overall, the infrastructure supports the university's digital needs effectively with room for modernization in security and privacy aspects.
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