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Security report for lyit.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

58/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Atlantic Technological University (ATU) operates a comprehensive multi-campus website serving students, staff, and researchers primarily in Ireland's west and northwest regions. The university offers a wide range of academic programs including undergraduate, postgraduate, apprenticeships, and professional development courses. The website reflects a mature digital presence with strong SEO, accessibility, and user experience features, supported by modern web technologies such as WordPress, Yoast SEO, Google Tag Manager, and Civic Cookie Control for GDPR compliance. Social media integration is robust, enhancing community engagement and outreach. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and implements a granular cookie consent mechanism aligned with GDPR requirements. While no explicit security policy or incident response information is found, the site avoids exposing sensitive data and uses nonce attributes in scripts to mitigate injection risks. The absence of HTTP security headers is a noted area for improvement. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from enhanced transparency and formalized security disclosures. The domain registration details are consistent with the university's identity, reinforcing legitimacy and trustworthiness. No signs of blocking or WAF interference were detected, allowing full content accessibility and analysis. The website's design quality, content richness, and navigation clarity contribute to a high trustworthiness rating, making it a reliable resource for its audience. Strategic recommendations include implementing HTTP security headers, publishing a dedicated security policy and incident response page, adding a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file, and enhancing contact information with security-specific channels. These steps would further strengthen the university's security posture and user trust.

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';…

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

Keep watching lyit.ie

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.

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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
60
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
70
Average
58

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 positions itself as a key educational institution in Ireland, targeting a diverse audience including domestic and international students, researchers, and staff. Its business model centers on delivering accredited academic programs and research opportunities across multiple campuses. The university leverages digital channels effectively for marketing and student engagement, supported by a comprehensive course catalog and event listings. Partnerships are evident through linked domains such as student and staff hubs. The institution demonstrates growth potential through extensive course offerings and active communication channels. The website's professional content and consistent branding support its market credibility and competitive advantage in the higher education sector.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS encryption and a well-implemented cookie consent mechanism that respects user privacy and GDPR mandates. Use of nonce attributes in inline scripts and consent mode configuration for Google Analytics indicate attention to security best practices. However, the absence of explicit HTTP security headers (e.g., Content Security Policy, HSTS) and lack of published security policies or incident response procedures represent gaps. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The site does not provide a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file, limiting transparency for security researchers. Overall, the security culture appears positive but could be enhanced by formalizing policies and improving header configurations.

Recommendations

  1. Implement HTTP security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS), X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page accessible from the website footer or main navigation.
  3. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  4. Enhance contact information with security-specific email addresses (e.g., security@atu.ie, abuse@atu.ie).
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and plugins to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
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, Online, Flexible and Professional Development, Research and Innovation, Student Support Services
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Yoast SEO plugin, Google Tag Manager, jQuery, Civic Cookie Control, AOS (Animate On Scroll), Typekit Fonts
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 controls
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of nonce in inline scripts
  • Consent mode configured for Google Analytics

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 designed, content-rich portal for Atlantic Technological University.
  2. Strong focus on education services including courses, research, student life, and international students.
  3. Comprehensive cookie consent mechanism with GDPR compliance.
  4. Multiple social media channels linked, indicating active engagement.
  5. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage; likely on dedicated contact pages.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and SEO best practices.
  7. No visible security policy or incident response information on homepage.
  8. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found.
  9. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with Yoast SEO plugin for search optimization and Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing tag management. It uses jQuery and AOS for interactive and animated UI elements, and Typekit for font management. The site demonstrates good mobile responsiveness and accessibility features, including skip links and ARIA labels. Performance is moderate, with lazy loading of images and deferred script loading. The cookie consent mechanism is implemented via Civic Cookie Control with detailed configuration for GDPR compliance. There is some technical debt in the form of missing HTTP security headers and potential improvements in hosting provider transparency. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a professional and user-friendly experience with room for security enhancements.
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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