Is startupschool.org Safe? Security Analysis for Y Combinator
Check if startupschool.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
Startup School, operated by Y Combinator, is a leading free online educational platform designed to help early-stage startup founders learn how to build successful companies. The website offers a structured 7-week curriculum featuring lessons from prominent YC partners and startup founders, along with tools such as co-founder matching and weekly progress tracking. The platform targets aspiring entrepreneurs and side project developers, positioning itself as a trusted resource in the startup ecosystem. Technically, the site leverages Ruby on Rails, modern JavaScript libraries, and analytics tools like Google Analytics and PostHog, delivering a responsive and well-structured user experience. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS and uses CSRF tokens but lacks some advanced security headers and explicit cookie consent mechanisms. WHOIS data is unavailable due to privacy protection, but the strong brand association and content quality support the domain's legitimacy. Overall, the website demonstrates a mature digital presence with excellent content quality and business credibility, though improvements in privacy compliance and security headers are recommended.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
The website benefits from its affiliation with Y Combinator, a globally recognized startup accelerator, which enhances its market position and trustworthiness. Its business model focuses on providing free educational content and community tools to early-stage founders, fostering startup growth and innovation. The platform's co-founder matching service and weekly tracking tools add value beyond traditional online courses. The target audience includes new entrepreneurs and side project founders worldwide. The site’s content and testimonials from YC alumni reinforce its credibility and effectiveness. While revenue streams are not explicit, the platform likely supports YC’s broader ecosystem and brand. Partnerships are primarily internal within Y Combinator’s network, with no external commercial partners identified.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website maintains a solid security baseline with HTTPS enforced and CSRF protection on forms. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents an area for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Privacy compliance is partially addressed through a comprehensive privacy policy linked to Y Combinator’s main site, but the lack of a cookie consent mechanism is a compliance gap under GDPR. Incident response and security policy information are not publicly available, which could hinder transparency. Overall, the security posture is good but could be enhanced by implementing recommended headers, explicit incident response contacts, and cookie consent.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to enhance protection against common web attacks.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
Y Combinator
Startup School is a free online course on how to start a startup, providing essential advice from Y Combinator partners and industry leaders. It offers a 7-week curriculum to help founders plan MVPs, funding, growth, team leadership, and more.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
good
basic
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- Use of CSRF tokens in forms
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
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
No Cookie Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires clear information about cookie usage
No Cookie Consent Banner found
HIGHGDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies
No Data Protection Officer mentioned
LOWLarge organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR
Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant
MEDIUMPrivacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements
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: transport, digital
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
No DKIM record found
MEDIUMDKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails
No BIMI Record
LOWBIMI displays brand logos in email clients
No MTA-STS Policy
MEDIUMMTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery
No TLS-RPT Record
LOWTLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues
SPF Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days
MEDIUMSSL certificate expires in 70 days
Weak SSL Key Length
HIGHSSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Certificate Details
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 Delete Lock Not Enabled
LOWDomain can be deleted without additional verification
No DMARC Record
MEDIUMDMARC policy not configured
Domain Registration Details
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