Is uwaterloo.ca Safe? Security Analysis for University of Waterloo
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AI Summary
The University of Waterloo is a leading Canadian educational institution known for its innovation, entrepreneurship, and comprehensive research programs. The website serves a broad audience including prospective and current students, faculty, and the general public. It provides extensive information about academic programs, events, news, and community engagement. The university holds a strong market position as a top-ranked institution in Canada with a large operational scale and a well-established digital presence. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 9 CMS and integrates multiple modern analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, LinkedIn Insight Tag, and Twitter Universal Website Tag. The site is well-optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, uses domain transfer protection, and employs various security best practices. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and explicit Content-Security-Policy headers were not detected in the HTML source, which are areas for improvement. Privacy compliance is robust with clear cookie consent mechanisms and a comprehensive privacy policy. Overall, the University of Waterloo website demonstrates a high level of professionalism, security, and compliance, supporting its reputation as a trusted educational institution. Strategic recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, enhancing security headers, and formalizing vulnerability disclosure policies to further strengthen security posture.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
The University of Waterloo operates as a public university in the education sector, targeting students at various levels and the research community. It leverages its strong reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship to attract students and partners. The business model focuses on education delivery, research funding, and community engagement. The university maintains a large-scale operation with extensive digital outreach and partnerships. Its competitive advantages include top national rankings, comprehensive program offerings, and a strong brand presence. The website supports these objectives by providing detailed program information, news updates, and event promotion, facilitating engagement with its diverse audience.
Extracted Contact Information
Marketing Intelligence Data
Phone Numbers (1)
Physical Addresses (1)
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforcement and domain transfer protection. The absence of DNSSEC is a notable gap that could expose the domain to DNS spoofing attacks. The use of multiple third-party analytics and marketing scripts introduces a moderate risk surface that requires ongoing monitoring. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Privacy and cookie compliance mechanisms are well implemented, supporting regulatory adherence. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact limits transparency in security governance. Overall, the site is secure but could benefit from enhanced DNS security and formalized vulnerability disclosure processes.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Enable DNSSEC to protect against DNS spoofing and improve domain security.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo is a comprehensive research university in Canada, highly ranked for innovation, entrepreneurship, and research excellence. It offers programs for high school, transfer, and graduate students, and hosts events and news related to academic and community life.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
fast
excellent
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- ClientTransferProhibited domain status
- No DNSSEC enabled (recommend enabling)
- Use of security and analytics scripts with async loading
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is a professionally maintained university site with comprehensive content.
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
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 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: energy, transport, health, digital
📧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"
Strict DMARC Alignment
LOWStrict alignment may cause legitimate emails to fail
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 Soon
HIGHSSL certificate expires in 11 days
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
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