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Security report for ulster.ac.uk

Ulster University · Education · United Kingdom

Partial score · DNS & email only

61/100

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

Ulster University is a prominent higher education institution in the UK and Ireland, recognized as the University of the Year 2024 by Times Higher Education. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs, targeting students, researchers, and staff. Its market position is strong, supported by comprehensive academic offerings and active business engagement. The website reflects a mature digital presence with professional design, clear navigation, and extensive content relevant to its audience. Technically, the site uses modern frameworks such as Foundation CSS, jQuery, and integrates advanced analytics and marketing tools including Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and Facebook Pixel. Embedded Salesforce chat services enhance user engagement and support. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and no evident vulnerabilities, though some security headers could be improved. Privacy and cookie policies are present and GDPR compliant, indicating good privacy compliance. Overall, the website demonstrates high professionalism, trustworthiness, and digital maturity.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
43/ 100 · High
Checks completed
6of 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. 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

    • 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

  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

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

Keep watching ulster.ac.uk

This scan found 11 issues across 5 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
0
Email security
88
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
43
Average
61

Not counted

  • Security headers: did not complete in this scan.
  • 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

Ulster University operates in the education sector with a large organizational size. Its business model focuses on delivering quality education, research, and community services. The university leverages partnerships such as Salesforce for customer engagement and uses multiple analytics platforms for marketing insights. The institution's strong brand recognition and awards contribute to its competitive advantage. The website supports various user segments including prospective students, current students, staff, and business partners. Growth indicators include scholarship offerings and global partnerships. The university maintains a comprehensive ecosystem of services and resources accessible via the website.

Security posture

The website exhibits a good security maturity level with enforced HTTPS and secure form handling via Salesforce embedded chat. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options suggests room for improvement. There is no published security policy or incident response contact information, which could enhance transparency and readiness. Privacy policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, supporting data protection practices. Overall, the security posture is strong but could benefit from additional header implementations and formal security disclosures.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce Content-Security-Policy header to mitigate XSS risks.
  2. Add X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options headers to improve clickjacking and MIME sniffing protections.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact details to enhance transparency.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and dependencies for vulnerabilities and update accordingly.
  5. Enhance data retention disclosures related to analytics and tracking for improved privacy compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Ulster University
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Ulster University
Description
Ulster University is the UK and Ireland University of the Year with a national and international reputation for teaching excellence and research innovation.
Key services
Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses, Research and Innovation, Student Support Services, Business Engagement and Partnerships
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.5.1, Foundation CSS framework, Typekit Fonts, Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, Facebook Pixel, Salesforce Embedded Service Chat, Swiper.js
Frameworks
Foundation
Platforms
Salesforce (chat service)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure forms with embedded Salesforce chat
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Silktide Analytics
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google DoubleClick
Tracking pixels
Microsoft Clarity, Facebook Pixel, Silktide Analytics
Marketing tools
Salesforce Embedded Chat
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured.
  2. Strong branding and consistent messaging about university achievements.
  3. Comprehensive navigation with clear calls to action.
  4. Use of multiple analytics and marketing tools indicating mature digital marketing.
  5. No signs of blocking or WAF interference.
  6. No exposed sensitive information or obvious vulnerabilities in the HTML content.
  7. Embedded Salesforce chat for contact and support.
  8. Privacy and cookie policies are present and GDPR compliant.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a solid technical foundation using the Foundation CSS framework and jQuery library, ensuring responsive and accessible design. Integration with Typekit provides consistent typography. The use of Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, and Facebook Pixel indicates advanced marketing and analytics capabilities. Salesforce embedded chat enhances user support and engagement. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. Accessibility features such as skip navigation links and ARIA labels are present, supporting inclusive design. The site structure and meta tags support good SEO practices. Hosting details are not explicitly identified but the domain and content delivery appear stable and reliable.
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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