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Is stanford.edu a Scam? Security Check Results - Stanford University Reviews

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Is stanford.edu Safe? Security Analysis for Stanford University

Check if stanford.edu is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationUnited Statesenterprise
WordPress CMSjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsFacebook Pixel+2 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 9:54:17 AM
65
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Stanford University is a globally recognized educational institution offering a broad range of academic programs, research initiatives, and health care services. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content targeting students, faculty, alumni, and the public. The technical infrastructure is based on WordPress with integration of modern analytics and marketing tools, ensuring good performance and user experience. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and security headers implemented, though WHOIS data is missing which slightly impacts trust. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained.

Detected Technologies

WordPress CMSjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsFacebook PixelSiteimprove AnalyticsHotjar

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Stanford University operates as a non-profit educational entity with a strong market position in higher education and research. Its business model focuses on academic excellence, research innovation, and community engagement. The website supports multiple audiences including prospective and current students, researchers, and healthcare clients. Partnerships with healthcare and athletics domains enhance its ecosystem. The digital presence supports brand consistency and trust, with clear navigation and extensive content.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a high level of security maturity with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. Use of third-party analytics and marketing scripts is managed with integrity checks. However, the absence of a public vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response information suggests room for improvement in transparency and readiness. The missing WHOIS data is a minor concern but likely due to privacy protection.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a clear vulnerability disclosure and incident response policy to enhance transparency.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Stanford University

Description:

Stanford University is a prestigious educational institution focused on discovery, learning, research, and innovation. It offers undergraduate, graduate, and lifelong learning programs, and is engaged in health care, athletics, and community building.

Key Services:
Undergraduate and graduate educationResearch and innovationHealth care servicesCampus life and student servicesAthletics programsPublic events and community engagement
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPress CMSjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsFacebook PixelSiteimprove AnalyticsHotjar
Frameworks:
WordPressGoogle Tag Manager
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security and analytics scripts with integrity checks

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsSiteimprove AnalyticsHotjar
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Facebook PixelHotjarSiteimprove Analytics
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 a professionally maintained university site with comprehensive content.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

40/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=300"

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
phone

🛡️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 ip4:171.67.219.64/27 ip4:171.67.224.0/28 ip4:171.67.43.137 ip4:171.67.43.138 ip4:171.67.43.139 ip4:171.67.43.140 ip4:171.67.43.141 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.qualtrics.com include:icpbounce.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com ip4:1 48.163.149.245 ip4:148.163.153.235 ip4:148.163.135.119 ip4:148.163.139.119 ip4:67.231.149.169 ip4:67.231.157.125 ip4:67.231.152.67 ip4:208.84.65.155 ?all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:?all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:default(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:mail(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:65cb29d44bd92@ag.dmarcly.com
Forensic Reports:65cb29d44bd92@fo.dmarcly.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

75/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Soon

HIGH

SSL certificate expires in 23 days

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

13 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:www.stanford.edu
Issuer:Certainly Intermediate R1
Valid Until:9/28/2025 (23 days)
SANs:www.stanford.edu

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

70/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Weak SPF Policy

HIGH

SPF record has permissive policy allowing any server to send email

Domain Registration Details

Expiry Risk
none(1058 days)

DNS Records

A Records:171.67.215.200
AAAA Records:2607:f6d0:0:925a::ab43:d7c8
Name Servers:
argus.stanford.eduDNS only
atalante.stanford.eduDNS only
avallone.stanford.eduDNS only
ns5.dnsmadeeasy.comDNS only
ns6.dnsmadeeasy.comDNS only
ns7.dnsmadeeasy.comDNS only
MX Records:
10: mxb-00000d07.gslb.pphosted.com
10: mxa-00000d07.gslb.pphosted.com
SOA:Serial: 2025141126, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:74ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:171.67.219.64/27 ip4:171.67.224.0/28 ip4:171.67.43.137 ip4:171.67.43.138 ip4:171.67.43.139 ip4:171.67.43.140 ip4:171.67.43.141 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.qualtrics.com include:icpbounce.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com ip4:1 48.163.149.245 ip4:148.163.153.235 ip4:148.163.135.119 ip4:148.163.139.119 ip4:67.231.149.169 ip4:67.231.157.125 ip4:67.231.152.67 ip4:208.84.65.155 ?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 is built on WordPress CMS with extensive use of JavaScript libraries including jQuery and analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Siteimprove Analytics, and Hotjar. The site uses responsive design and accessibility best practices, with good SEO metadata and Open Graph tags. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. Hosting details are not explicitly identified. Overall, the technical implementation supports a robust and user-friendly experience.
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