Skip to main content

Security report for uis.edu

University of Illinois Springfield · Education · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS and GDPR outside view.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a reputable public university offering a wide range of academic programs including online degrees, with a strong emphasis on student success and community engagement. The website reflects a well-established institution with consistent branding, comprehensive content, and clear navigation tailored to prospective and current students, faculty, and alumni. The university holds recognized institutional accreditation and ranks highly within the region, reinforcing its market position. Technically, the UIS website is built on Drupal 10, leveraging modern web technologies and analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, and Facebook Pixel. The site demonstrates good performance, mobile optimization, and accessibility features. Privacy and cookie consent mechanisms are implemented, indicating compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations. From a security perspective, the website enforces HTTPS, employs security headers, and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, there is no publicly available vulnerability disclosure or incident response contact information, which could be improved. The absence of WHOIS data for the www.uis.edu subdomain is noted but likely due to querying the subdomain rather than the root domain. Overall, the domain and website appear legitimate and trustworthy. Strategically, UIS should consider publishing a security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy and providing explicit incident response contacts to enhance transparency and security posture. Regular audits of third-party scripts and continuous monitoring will further strengthen their defenses.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  2. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • 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

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

Keep watching uis.edu

This scan found 18 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.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
67
Security headers
75
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
78

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

UIS operates as a public higher education institution under the University of Illinois system, serving a medium-sized student body with a focus on flexible learning options including online programs. Its competitive advantages include strong regional rankings, comprehensive student services, and a robust alumni network. Revenue streams are primarily from tuition, grants, and donations. The target customer segments include first-year, transfer, graduate, and international students. Growth indicators include ongoing campus development projects and active community engagement. Partnerships with other University of Illinois campuses and community organizations support its ecosystem. The website's digital presence reflects a mature and professional operation aligned with its educational mission.

Security posture

The UIS website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforcement, use of security headers, and privacy compliance mechanisms. The presence of cookie consent and privacy policies aligns with regulatory requirements. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, the lack of a public vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contact information represents a gap in transparency and readiness. The use of multiple third-party analytics and tracking scripts necessitates ongoing vigilance to mitigate supply chain risks. Overall, UIS maintains a solid security foundation appropriate for an educational institution but could enhance its incident response and disclosure practices.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a publicly accessible vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information on the website to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and analytics tools to minimize security risks.
  4. Enhance user awareness of privacy practices through more visible and detailed disclosures.
  5. Continue investing in accessibility and mobile optimization to maintain excellent user experience.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
University of Illinois Springfield
Description
A top-tier public university offering innovative academic programs, vibrant campus life, and a personalized approach to education.
Key services
Undergraduate and graduate degree programs, Online education, Campus life and student organizations, Athletics and recreation, Community outreach and arts, Alumni and giving programs
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Microsoft Clarity, OneTrust Cookie Consent, GrowthBook A/B Testing, jQuery, FontAwesome, Chart.js
Frameworks
Drupal
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security headers

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM), Microsoft Clarity, Facebook Pixel
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Microsoft Clarity
Marketing tools
GrowthBook
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 multimedia
  2. Strong branding consistent with University of Illinois Springfield
  3. Comprehensive navigation and clear user pathways for different applicant types
  4. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools
  5. Presence of privacy and cookie consent mechanisms
  6. No signs of adult or inappropriate content
  7. WHOIS data missing for www.uis.edu subdomain, possibly due to querying subdomain WHOIS instead of root domain
Technical notes

Notes

The UIS website is built on Drupal 10, a modern and widely supported CMS, ensuring a solid foundation for content management and security. The site integrates multiple analytics and marketing tools including Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, Facebook Pixel, and GrowthBook for A/B testing, indicating a data-driven approach to user engagement. Performance is moderate with good mobile responsiveness and accessibility features. The site uses standard web fonts and icon libraries such as FontAwesome and Google Fonts. There is no explicit hosting provider identified, but the presence of university-related domains suggests institutional hosting. Technical risks include reliance on multiple third-party scripts which require continuous monitoring for vulnerabilities.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with uis.edu. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review uis.edu.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.