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Security report for gmit.ie

Atlantic Technological University · Education · Ireland

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

60/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Atlantic Technological University (ATU) is a large, multi-campus technological university based in Ireland, offering a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate, apprenticeship, and professional development courses. The institution targets students, researchers, and international applicants, positioning itself as a key educational provider in the west and northwest regions of Ireland. The website reflects a professional and comprehensive digital presence, with clear navigation, extensive course information, and strong branding consistency. The university maintains active social media channels and provides detailed privacy and cookie policies, demonstrating commitment to user privacy and regulatory compliance. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern technologies such as Yoast SEO, Google Tag Manager, and Civic Cookie Control. It employs responsive design, accessibility features, and SEO best practices, ensuring good performance and user experience across devices. The site uses HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and implements cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR requirements. However, explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly available, representing an area for improvement. From a security perspective, the site shows good practices including HTTPS enforcement, cookie consent management, and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. The absence of certain security headers and a security.txt file suggests room for enhancement in security posture. Overall, the domain registration data aligns well with the website content, confirming legitimacy and trustworthiness. Strategically, ATU should consider publishing detailed security and incident response policies, enhancing security headers, and maintaining regular audits of third-party scripts. These steps will strengthen trust and compliance, supporting the university's reputation as a secure and reliable educational institution.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
70/ 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. 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

  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 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 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
50
Email security
75
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
70
Average
60

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

ATU operates as a public higher education institution with a broad portfolio of academic offerings, including flexible and online learning options, apprenticeships, and research opportunities. Its market positioning as a technological university serving western Ireland is supported by a multi-campus structure and diverse course catalog. The university leverages partnerships and maintains an active presence on major social media platforms to engage prospective and current students. Revenue streams likely include tuition fees, government funding, and research grants. The website's comprehensive course search and event listings indicate a focus on student engagement and community involvement. Growth indicators include expanding postgraduate offerings and strategic agreements with international institutions. The business model emphasizes accessibility, diversity, and innovation in education.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and a well-implemented cookie consent mechanism that respects user privacy and GDPR compliance. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and security.txt files indicates gaps in transparency and readiness for security incidents. Security headers beyond basic ones are not evident, suggesting potential improvements in defense-in-depth strategies. The use of third-party analytics and marketing tools is managed with user consent, reflecting good privacy practices. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by formalizing policies and improving header configurations.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and preparedness.
  2. Implement a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  3. Add additional security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options.
  4. Regularly review and update third-party scripts to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance contact information with dedicated security or abuse email addresses to support incident reporting.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Atlantic Technological University
Description
ATU is a multi-campus technological university in the west and northwest of Ireland that delivers a rich combination of academic and research excellence, quality of life and opportunity.
Key services
Undergraduate Courses, Postgraduate Courses, Apprenticeships, Research and Innovation, Student Support, International Student Services
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Yoast SEO, Google Tag Manager, jQuery, Civic Cookie Control, Typekit Fonts, Tiny Slider (tns), AOS (Animate On Scroll)
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent with granular options
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of nonce in scripts
  • Security related cookies marked as necessary

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Facebook Pixel
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 extensive course offerings.
  2. Strong compliance with GDPR and cookie consent regulations.
  3. Use of modern web technologies and SEO best practices.
  4. No signs of phishing, malware, or suspicious activity.
  5. Comprehensive course catalog embedded in JavaScript for search functionality.
  6. Multiple campus locations clearly presented.
  7. Social media presence is robust and consistent with branding.
  8. No direct email or phone contact details found in the main HTML; contact likely via contact page.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform, utilizing modern web technologies including Yoast SEO for search optimization, Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing integration, and Civic Cookie Control for GDPR-compliant cookie management. The site employs responsive design techniques and accessibility best practices, ensuring usability across devices and for users with disabilities. Performance is moderate, with efficient use of lazy loading for images and asynchronous script loading. The extensive course catalog is embedded in JavaScript for dynamic search functionality, indicating a sophisticated content delivery approach. Technical risks are minimal, but the site would benefit from enhanced security headers and formalized security documentation to reduce potential operational risks.
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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