Skip to main content

Security report for drexel.edu

Drexel University · Education · United States

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

74/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Drexel University is a large, well-established higher education institution based in Philadelphia, USA, recognized for its comprehensive academic offerings and leadership in experiential education and cooperative education programs. The website reflects a strong market position with top national rankings and a focus on student success and innovation. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and Typekit fonts, and appears to be built on a CMS likely Sitecore. The site is well optimized for mobile and accessibility, with good SEO practices. Security posture is strong with HTTPS, security headers, and secure forms, though explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly detailed. Privacy compliance is good with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and serves its target audience effectively.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 100 · Medium
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

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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 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';…

  2. GDPR outside view

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

    • 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

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  3. 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.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching drexel.edu

This scan found 19 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
67
Security headers
50
Email security
87
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
74

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

Drexel University operates in the education sector, targeting prospective and current students, families, alumni, and faculty. Its business model centers on providing diverse academic programs including undergraduate, graduate, professional, and online education, enriched by a premier cooperative education program. The university maintains a strong brand with consistent messaging and trust indicators such as rankings and research status. The website integrates marketing and analytics tools to support recruitment and engagement. No suspicious or non-compliant business practices are evident. The institution's digital presence supports its strategic goals of experiential learning and global engagement.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no visible exposure of sensitive data. Use of third-party scripts is monitored, though no explicit vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files are present. Incident response and security policy details are not publicly available, which could be improved. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms align with GDPR requirements. No critical vulnerabilities or security issues were detected in the content or technical setup. Overall, the security posture supports business continuity and user trust but could benefit from enhanced transparency and formal security disclosures.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and user trust.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  3. Provide contact information for a Data Protection Officer or privacy/security contact to comply with GDPR and related regulations.
  4. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and tracking tools to minimize security risks.
  5. Enhance documentation of data retention policies and user privacy rights on the website.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Drexel University
Description
Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA is an academically comprehensive and globally engaged urban research university, dedicated to advancing knowledge and society and to providing every student with a valuable, rigorous, experiential, technology-infused education, enriched by the nation's premier co-operative education program.
Key services
Undergraduate Programs, Graduate & Professional Degree Programs, Online Programs, Cooperative Education (Co-op), Career Development, Research & Innovation
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, YouTube Iframe API, Typekit Fonts, JavaScript ES6+, CSS3, HTML5
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

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

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM inferred), Facebook Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ads (via GTM), ClickCease
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Facebook Pixel, HeyHalda Smart Forms
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 maintained university site with comprehensive academic and student life information.
  2. Strong emphasis on experiential education and cooperative education programs.
  3. Multiple calls to action for applications, visits, and donations.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and tracking tools for analytics and marketing.
  5. Good accessibility and mobile optimization observed.
  6. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, YouTube API, and Adobe Typekit fonts, likely running on Sitecore CMS. The site is mobile optimized and accessible, with good SEO metadata and structured navigation. Performance is moderate, with room for optimization in loading times. The presence of multiple analytics and marketing scripts indicates a mature digital marketing strategy. No deprecated or vulnerable libraries were detected. The technical infrastructure supports a robust user experience and aligns with the university's branding and business goals.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with drexel.edu. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review drexel.edu.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.