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Security report for fiu.edu

Florida International University · Education · United States

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

53/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Florida International University (FIU) is a large, public research university based in Miami, Florida, offering over 190 degree programs with a strong emphasis on research and community engagement. The website positions FIU as a top-tier institution with a global reach, highlighting its Carnegie Very High Research designation and extensive student body. The site targets prospective and current students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community, providing comprehensive information on academics, research, student life, and athletics. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Foundation CSS, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, and various analytics tools, delivering a responsive and accessible user experience. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities, though security headers and explicit security policies are absent. Privacy compliance is basic, lacking visible privacy and cookie policies in the provided content. WHOIS data for the exact queried domain is unavailable, but the domain and content strongly indicate legitimacy. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, serving as an effective digital presence for FIU.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 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

8 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  2. 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • 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';…

  3. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

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

Keep watching fiu.edu

This scan found 20 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.

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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
15
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
53

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

FIU holds a strong market position as a leading public university in South Florida with a large and diverse student population. Its business model centers on education, research, and public service, supported by a broad portfolio of degree programs and research initiatives. The university leverages partnerships with cultural institutions and maintains active alumni and giving programs. Revenue streams likely include tuition, research grants, donations, and public funding. The website ecosystem includes multiple partner domains for alumni, giving, ticketing, and museums, reflecting a mature partnership network. Growth indicators include emphasis on online education and research prominence. The institution's operations are transparent and well-structured, with clear navigation and extensive resources for various stakeholders.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS and no exposed sensitive data. Use of Google Tag Manager and Facebook Pixel is implemented asynchronously, minimizing performance impact. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents an area for improvement. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file is present, limiting transparency for security researchers. Privacy compliance is minimal, with no explicit cookie consent mechanism or privacy policy detected in the provided content. Incident response contacts and security policies are not publicly visible. Overall, the site is secure but could enhance its security maturity by adopting additional headers, publishing security policies, and improving privacy compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to improve GDPR and privacy compliance.
  2. Add security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, and Referrer-Policy to strengthen security posture.
  3. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting and improve transparency.
  4. Provide clear incident response contact information, such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses, to enhance security readiness.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools to ensure compliance with privacy regulations and minimize security risks.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Florida International University
Description
Florida International University is a top public university that drives talent and innovation in Miami and globally.
Key services
Degree programs (190+), Research initiatives, Student life and athletics, Alumni and giving programs, Online education
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, Foundation CSS framework, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics (gtag.js), Facebook Pixel, Siteimprove Analytics, Google Custom Search Engine, Vide.js (video backgrounds), Font Awesome icons
Frameworks
Foundation
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of Google Tag Manager and Facebook Pixel with async loading
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Siteimprove Analytics, Facebook Pixel
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ads (AW-777867641)
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Siteimprove Analytics
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and multimedia
  2. No WAF or security blocking detected
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie policy pages found in the provided HTML
  4. Strong branding and consistent navigation
  5. Multiple official social media and partner links present
  6. No visible forms collecting sensitive data on the homepage
  7. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools
  8. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found
  9. WHOIS data missing or inaccessible for the exact queried domain
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack featuring Foundation CSS for responsive design, jQuery for DOM manipulation, and various analytics and marketing tools including Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and Siteimprove Analytics. Video backgrounds are implemented using Vide.js. The site is mobile optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices evident in meta tags and structured navigation. No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary platform. Performance is moderate, with asynchronous loading of scripts and preloading of fonts. Hosting provider details are not discernible from the content. The site architecture supports a large content base with clear segmentation for academics, research, student life, and more. Technical debt appears low, but opportunities exist to enhance security headers and privacy features.
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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