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Security report for uarctic.org

University of the Arctic (UArctic) · Education · Finland

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The University of the Arctic (UArctic) operates as a collaborative network of academic and research institutions focused on education and research in the Arctic and northern regions. The organization facilitates cooperation among over 200 member institutions, providing thematic networks, mobility programs such as north2north, and resources to support research and education. The website reflects a well-established non-profit entity with a clear mission to strengthen collective resources for northern studies. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Font Awesome 6 Pro, Embla Carousel, and lazy loading for images, ensuring a fast and responsive user experience. The use of Umbraco CMS is inferred from HTML structure, indicating a professional content management approach. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced, cookie consent mechanisms, and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies, including GDPR considerations. Overall, the website demonstrates high professionalism, trustworthiness, and a strong digital presence suitable for its academic and non-profit nature.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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. 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';…

  2. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  3. 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.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching uarctic.org

This scan found 24 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.

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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
62
Security headers
25
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
70

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

UArctic holds a significant position in the Arctic education and research sector, leveraging a network model to connect universities, colleges, and research institutes. Its business model focuses on collaboration, resource sharing, and mobility programs that enhance educational opportunities across northern regions. The organization targets academic institutions, researchers, and students interested in Arctic studies. Revenue streams likely include membership fees, grants, and donations, supported by a dedicated giving platform. The partnership ecosystem includes educational institutions and service providers for web development and design. The website content and structure indicate a mature organization with strategic focus on outreach, education, and research facilitation.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and use of cookie consent scripts to comply with privacy regulations. No security policy or incident response pages were found, which could be improved to enhance transparency and readiness. No vulnerable libraries or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Security headers are not explicitly visible but likely configured server-side. The absence of a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file suggests an area for improvement in responsible vulnerability management. Overall, the security risk is low, but adding explicit security policies and disclosure mechanisms would strengthen the posture.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publicly document a security policy and incident response plan on the website.
  2. Add a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  3. Verify and enforce security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  4. Maintain and regularly update privacy and cookie policies to reflect evolving regulations.
  5. Enhance transparency by providing more detailed business registration and certification information.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
University of the Arctic (UArctic)
Description
UArctic is a network of universities, colleges, research institutes, and other organizations focused on education and research in and about the North. It builds and strengthens collective resources and infrastructures to better serve member institutions and their regions.
Key services
Thematic Networks and Institutes, north2north mobility program, Research and education collaboration, Publications and resources, Events and seminars
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Font Awesome 6 Pro, Tom Select, Embla Carousel, LazySizes (lazy loading images), Plausible Analytics
Frameworks
Frameworks (custom development), CSS custom properties, JavaScript ES6 modules
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of cookie consent script
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Plausible Analytics
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Plausible Analytics
Marketing tools
Cookie Script for consent management
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 navigation.
  2. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected.
  3. WHOIS data unavailable, likely privacy protected.
  4. Strong privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanism.
  5. Clear contact email and physical address in Finland.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and analytics with privacy focus.
  7. No visible security vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data.
  8. No terms of service or explicit security policy pages found.
  9. Social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and RSS feed.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack including Umbraco CMS, Font Awesome 6 Pro icons, Embla Carousel for sliders, and lazy loading for images to optimize performance. The use of CSS custom properties and ES6 JavaScript modules indicates up-to-date front-end development practices. Analytics are handled via Plausible, a privacy-focused service, aligning with GDPR compliance. The site is mobile optimized with responsive design and accessibility features such as ARIA labels and keyboard navigation support. Performance is fast with efficient asset loading and minimal blocking scripts. Technical risks are minimal, but continuous monitoring and updates are recommended to maintain security and performance.
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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