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Security report for curtin.edu.au

Curtin University · Education · Australia

High risk. 6 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

45/100

Risk levelHigh

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Curtin University is a large, internationally recognized higher education institution headquartered in Australia with multiple global campuses. It offers a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs, serving students, researchers, and industry partners worldwide. The university maintains a strong market position in education and research, supported by accreditations and memberships such as TEQSA and the Australian Technology Network. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and consistent branding. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern libraries and frameworks including jQuery, Slick Carousel, and integrates marketing and analytics tools like Google Tag Manager, Marketo, and New Relic. The site is well-optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, accessibility, and SEO. Security best practices are implemented with HTTPS, security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities, though privacy compliance could be enhanced with explicit cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the security posture is strong with no critical issues detected. The domain registration data aligns with the university's identity, confirming legitimacy and trustworthiness. Strategic recommendations include improving privacy compliance, publishing security policies, and establishing a vulnerability disclosure program to further enhance trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
28/ 100 · High
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

  2. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

  3. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
0
Security headers
45
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
28
Average
45

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Curtin University operates as a leading educational and research institution with a global footprint, including campuses in Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka. Its business model focuses on delivering quality education, research excellence, and industry partnerships. The university targets a diverse audience including domestic and international students, researchers, alumni, and corporate partners. It leverages a strong brand and accreditations to maintain competitive advantages. The presence of multiple international campuses and comprehensive online resources indicates a growth-oriented, globally engaged institution with a robust partnership ecosystem.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no exposed sensitive information in the HTML content. The use of reputable third-party services for analytics and marketing is balanced with security considerations. However, the absence of a visible cookie consent banner and dedicated security or incident response pages indicates areas for improvement in privacy compliance and incident management readiness. No critical vulnerabilities or security misconfigurations were detected in the provided content.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a clear and accessible cookie consent banner to comply with privacy regulations.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response information to enhance transparency and preparedness.
  3. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  4. Provide explicit contact channels for security incidents, such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Curtin University
Registration number
CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Curtin University
Description
Curtin University is an international university with locations in Western Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Colombo, Mauritius and Dubai.
Key services
Undergraduate and Postgraduate Courses, Research Programs, Industry Partnerships, Student Support Services, Global Campuses
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Slick Carousel, Google Tag Manager, Marketo Munchkin, YouTube Iframe API, New Relic Browser Agent
Frameworks
WordPress, Mimas Theme
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with proper input types

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM), Marketo Munchkin, New Relic
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Tag Manager
Tracking pixels
Marketo Munchkin, New Relic Browser Agent
Marketing tools
Marketo, New Relic
Transparency
good

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally designed, comprehensive university site with extensive content and clear navigation.
  2. Multiple global campuses are prominently featured, reflecting international presence.
  3. Strong social media integration and active content updates (news, events, podcasts).
  4. Use of modern web technologies and performance optimizations.
  5. Security best practices are observed but privacy compliance could be improved with explicit cookie consent.
  6. No critical security issues or vulnerabilities detected in the HTML content.
  7. WHOIS data supports the legitimacy and consistency of the domain ownership.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS with a custom Mimas theme, utilizing modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and Slick Carousel for interactive elements. It integrates marketing and analytics tools including Google Tag Manager, Marketo Munchkin, and New Relic for performance monitoring. The site is hosted on a CDN-backed infrastructure (pcdn.co) ensuring fast load times and global availability. The HTML structure supports accessibility and SEO best practices with appropriate meta tags, structured data (JSON-LD), and responsive design. Technical risks are minimal, with opportunities to enhance privacy compliance and security documentation.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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