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Security report for lit.ie

Technological University of the Shannon · Education · Ireland

High risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

40/100

Risk levelHigh

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

The Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) is a prominent Irish higher education institution serving over 15,000 students across seven campuses in the Midlands and Midwest regions of Ireland. The university offers a broad range of academic programs including undergraduate, postgraduate, flexible learning, and apprenticeships, with a strong emphasis on applied learning, innovation, and industry collaboration. TUS positions itself as a student-first university with comprehensive support services and a vibrant campus life. Technically, the website is built on a modern WordPress platform with up-to-date plugins such as Yoast SEO and Search & Filter Pro, ensuring good SEO and user experience. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and integrates analytics tools like Google Tag Manager and Microsoft Clarity for performance and user behavior insights. The technical infrastructure reflects a mature digital presence suitable for a large educational institution. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, employs cookie consent mechanisms compliant with GDPR, and avoids exposing sensitive data. While no explicit security policy or incident response contacts are published, the overall security posture is strong with no detected vulnerabilities or outdated libraries. The WHOIS data confirms the legitimacy and consistency of the domain registration with the university's identity. Overall, TUS demonstrates a high level of professionalism, compliance, and technical maturity. Strategic recommendations include publishing a dedicated security policy, adding incident response contacts, and implementing a security.txt file to enhance transparency and trust. These steps would further strengthen the university's security posture and stakeholder confidence.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
63/ 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

5 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 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';…

  4. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

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

Keep watching lit.ie

This scan found 22 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

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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
25
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
63
Average
40

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

TUS operates as a regional technological university focused on delivering applied education and research services to a diverse student population. Its competitive advantage lies in its multi-campus presence, strong industry ties, and comprehensive program offerings including apprenticeships and flexible learning. Revenue streams likely include tuition fees, government funding, research grants, and partnerships. The university targets students from Ireland and international markets, researchers, and community stakeholders. Its partnership ecosystem includes European funding bodies and technology companies such as Dell Technologies. The university's strategic plan and governance structures indicate a well-organized institution with growth ambitions and a commitment to equality, diversity, and sustainability.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, GDPR-compliant cookie consent, and no visible security vulnerabilities. The absence of a published security policy or incident response contacts is a gap that could impact transparency and readiness. The use of reputable analytics and marketing tools is balanced with privacy considerations. No exposed credentials or sensitive data were found. Overall, the security culture appears positive but could benefit from enhanced documentation and communication of security practices to users and stakeholders.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive security policy page accessible from the website footer or governance section.
  2. Add dedicated incident response contact channels such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  3. Implement a security.txt file at the root domain to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  4. Regularly review and audit third-party scripts and plugins for privacy and security compliance.
  5. Enhance HTTP security headers and document their configuration publicly to improve trust.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Technological University of the Shannon
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Technological University of the Shannon
Description
The Technological University of the Shannon is an Irish university with over 15,000 students on 7 campuses in 4 counties in Ireland's Midlands and Midwest.
Key services
Undergraduate study, Postgraduate study, Flexible and professional learning, Apprenticeships, Research, development & innovation, Student support services, Campus life and facilities
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.7.2, jQuery 3.7.1, Yoast SEO plugin, Search & Filter Pro plugin, WP Smart Crop plugin, Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner with granular controls
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security and privacy plugins
  • No vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Microsoft Clarity, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Microsoft Clarity
Marketing tools
Yoast SEO, Microsoft Clarity
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 content
  2. Strong compliance with GDPR and cookie consent regulations
  3. Use of modern web technologies and SEO best practices
  4. Clear contact information and social media presence
  5. No signs of blocking or security challenges
  6. No exposed sensitive data or obvious vulnerabilities
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 6.7.2 with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Yoast SEO, and Search & Filter Pro plugins. It uses Google Fonts and integrates Google Tag Manager and Microsoft Clarity for analytics. The site is mobile responsive, accessible, and SEO optimized with structured data (JSON-LD) for enhanced search engine understanding. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. The technical debt appears low with current versions of libraries and plugins. Hosting provider details are not explicit but the site uses CDN and DNS prefetching for performance. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports the university's digital needs effectively with opportunities for further performance tuning.
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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