Is ucsb.edu Safe? Security Analysis for University of California, Santa Barbara
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AI Summary
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) operates a comprehensive and professionally designed website that serves as a central hub for academic programs, research initiatives, campus life, and community engagement. The site targets prospective and current students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni, providing extensive information about admissions, academics, research, and campus experience. UCSB holds a strong market position as a top-ranked public university in the United States, supported by authoritative branding and consistent messaging across its digital presence. Technically, the website leverages Drupal 10 CMS and integrates multiple analytics and marketing tools, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. Security posture is robust with HTTPS enforcement and use of security-related scripts, though explicit privacy and cookie policies are not evident in the provided content. The absence of WHOIS data is typical for .edu domains but limits domain registration transparency. Overall, UCSB's website demonstrates high professionalism, trustworthiness, and effective communication of its educational mission.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
UCSB is positioned as a leading public university within the University of California system, offering a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, research opportunities, and professional education. Its business model is centered on public higher education and research funding, with key revenue streams likely including state funding, tuition, grants, and donations. The website's ecosystem includes multiple affiliated domains for specialized functions such as giving, summer sessions, and research news, indicating a well-structured partnership and service network. The university targets diverse customer segments including domestic and international students, researchers, and the academic community. Growth indicators include recent rankings and active research funding announcements. Strategic partnerships with educational and research entities are evident through linked domains and content.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
UCSB's website exhibits a solid security posture with HTTPS enabled and integration of security analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager and Facebook Pixel. The site likely benefits from Drupal's built-in security features including CSRF protection on forms. However, the lack of visible privacy and cookie policies, absence of a security.txt file, and no explicit incident response or security policy pages represent compliance gaps. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analyzed content. The security score is good but could be improved by publishing comprehensive privacy and security documentation and ensuring all recommended security headers are implemented and reported. Incident response readiness and transparency could be enhanced to align with best practices and regulatory requirements.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Publish clear and comprehensive privacy and cookie policies including GDPR compliance statements and consent mechanisms.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
University of California, Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara is a leading center for teaching and research located on the California coast - truly a learning and living environment like no other!
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
good
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Use of security analytics scripts
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- Secure forms with CSRF tokens (assumed via Drupal)
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Official university website with comprehensive academic and campus information
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration
LOWCurrent value: "max-age=300"
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
Missing X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
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 Privacy Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy
No Cookie Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires clear information about cookie usage
No Cookie Consent Banner found
HIGHGDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies
Third-party services without privacy policy
HIGHDetected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube
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
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
DMARC not enforcing
MEDIUMDMARC policy is set to "none"
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'google' uses 936-bit key
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
DKIM Selectors Found
DMARC 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 81 days
Mixed Content Detected
MEDIUM13 resources loaded over insecure HTTP
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
DMARC Policy Set to None
LOWDMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy
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