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Security report for ttu.edu

Texas Tech University · Education · United States

High risk. 9 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

47/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Texas Tech University is a large, well-established public research university in the United States, founded in 1923. The website serves a broad audience including prospective and current students, parents, alumni, and donors, offering comprehensive information on admissions, academics, campus life, research, and athletics. The site is professionally designed with consistent branding and clear navigation, reflecting a high level of digital maturity. Technically, the site uses a modern tech stack including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, and PureChat, and is built on the OmniUpdate CMS platform. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities, though security headers could be improved and a formal security policy page is absent. Privacy compliance is partial, with privacy and terms policies present but no explicit cookie consent mechanism. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professional, with strong business credibility and good user experience.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
10/ 100 · Critical
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

9 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 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';…

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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
15
Email security
75
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
10
Average
47

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

Texas Tech University holds a strong market position as a Carnegie Very High Research Activity institution, offering a wide range of degree programs and research opportunities. Its business model focuses on education, research, and community engagement. The university maintains a robust partnership ecosystem including athletics, alumni, and fundraising organizations. The website supports these operations with clear contact information, extensive resources, and integration with social media and marketing tools. Growth indicators include active event calendars, news updates, and engagement with diverse audiences. The university's digital presence supports its mission and outreach effectively.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and no exposed sensitive data. Use of Google Tag Manager and other third-party scripts is controlled, but the absence of security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options is a gap. No public incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies were found, which could improve transparency and readiness. Privacy compliance is limited by the lack of a cookie consent mechanism, which is important for GDPR and other regulations. Overall, the site is secure but could benefit from enhanced security policies and headers to strengthen defenses and compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a formal security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and readiness.
  2. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  3. Introduce a cookie consent banner/mechanism to comply with GDPR and improve user privacy transparency.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to mitigate risks from external dependencies.
  5. Enhance data protection officer contact visibility and provide clear data retention policies.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Texas Tech University
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Texas Tech University
Description
Texas Tech University is a public research university offering undergraduate, graduate, law, and veterinary medicine programs. It serves over 40,000 students with a wide range of academic programs and research opportunities.
Key services
Undergraduate admissions, Graduate admissions, Law school admissions, Veterinary medicine education, Research and innovation support, Student housing and campus life, Alumni relations and fundraising
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 2.1.1, jQuery Mobile Custom, Modernizr, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics (gtag.js), Hotjar, PureChat, Google Translate
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by https URLs)
  • Use of Google Tag Manager for controlled script loading
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with HTTPS action URLs

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Hotjar
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Hotjar
Marketing tools
PureChat
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a comprehensive official university site with extensive navigation and content.
  2. No signs of blocking or WAF challenges detected.
  3. Privacy and terms policies are present but no explicit cookie consent mechanism found.
  4. Multiple official social media and partner links included.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  6. Secure HTTPS usage confirmed.
  7. No exposed sensitive data or obvious vulnerabilities found in the HTML content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a solid technical foundation using jQuery, Modernizr, and Google Tag Manager, with integration of analytics and user engagement tools like Hotjar and PureChat. The CMS appears to be OmniUpdate, a platform commonly used by educational institutions. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags and structured navigation. Opportunities exist to modernize by adopting newer JavaScript frameworks and improving security headers. Technical risks are minimal but should be managed through continuous monitoring and updates.
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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