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Security report for unimelb.edu.au

The University of Melbourne · Education · Australia

High risk. 18 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

42/100

Risk levelHigh

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

The University of Melbourne is a leading Australian educational institution renowned for its comprehensive range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs. It holds a top market position as Australia's #1 ranked university, serving students, researchers, industry partners, and alumni. The website reflects a mature digital presence with extensive content, clear navigation, and strong branding consistency. The technical infrastructure leverages modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager, Adobe Alloy, Tealium, and Optimizely, supported by a robust CDN via Amazon Cloudfront. Mobile optimization and accessibility are well implemented, enhancing user experience across devices. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced, cookie consent mechanisms, and no visible vulnerabilities, although explicit security policies and incident response details are absent. Overall, the site demonstrates high professionalism, trustworthiness, and compliance with privacy regulations, making it a reliable digital asset for the university.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of unimelb.edu.au. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
55/ 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

18 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. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: Telnet

      Port 23 (Telnet) is publicly accessible - Telnet - Unencrypted remote access

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to Telnet using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection
    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: SMB

      Port 445 (SMB) is publicly accessible - SMB - Windows file sharing, high risk

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to SMB using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection
    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MSSQL

      Port 1433 (MSSQL) is publicly accessible - MSSQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MSSQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

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

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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
40
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
55
Average
42

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 · found on this site
  • 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

The University of Melbourne operates as an essential entity in the education sector, providing a broad spectrum of academic and research services. Its business model focuses on delivering high-quality education, fostering research innovation, and building partnerships with industry and government. The university targets a diverse audience including domestic and international students, academic researchers, and corporate collaborators. The presence of multiple subdomains and partner sites indicates a well-established ecosystem supporting specialized functions such as scholarships, accommodation, and genomics research. The institution's market position is reinforced by its branding, comprehensive content, and active engagement on social media platforms. Growth indicators include ongoing campus development projects and innovation precincts like Melbourne Connect. Strategic partnerships and community initiatives further enhance its competitive advantage and outreach.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enabled and the use of security-conscious tag management tools like Tealium. Cookie consent mechanisms comply with GDPR requirements, and no sensitive data is exposed in the HTML content. However, the absence of a publicly available security policy, incident response plan, and vulnerability disclosure program represents a compliance gap. Security headers are partially present but could be enhanced with additional directives such as HSTS and X-Frame-Options. No vulnerable or outdated libraries were detected in the scripts loaded. The site does not expose forms collecting sensitive data without visible security controls, indicating secure data handling practices. Overall, the security maturity is good but would benefit from formalized policies and transparency around incident management.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response plan accessible from the website footer or legal section.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  3. Add data protection officer contact details to enhance GDPR compliance and user trust.
  4. Enhance HTTP security headers by including HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tag management configurations to mitigate supply chain risks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
The University of Melbourne
Registration number
PRV12150
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The University of Melbourne
Description
Australia's number one university and world leader in education, teaching and research. We offer a vast range of study courses and research programs.
Key services
Undergraduate courses, Postgraduate courses, Graduate research and PhD study, Professional development, Research partnerships, Scholarships, Accommodation
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Adobe Alloy, Tealium, Optimizely, Cloudfront CDN, Google Fonts, Progressive Image Loading, Web Components
Frameworks
Custom University CMS, Tealium Tag Management
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • Use of security-focused tag management (Tealium)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Adobe Alloy, Tealium
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Optimizely
Tracking pixels
Adobe Alloy, Tealium
Marketing tools
Tealium
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. Comprehensive educational and research content is provided.
  3. Strong presence of privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Multiple official social media channels linked.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and tag management systems.
  6. No signs of blocking or WAF challenges.
  7. Contact information is clearly presented and verified.
  8. No visible security vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a custom or proprietary CMS platform with extensive use of modern JavaScript libraries and tag management systems. It employs progressive image loading techniques and web components for UI elements, contributing to a responsive and performant user experience. Hosting is supported by Amazon Cloudfront CDN, ensuring global content delivery efficiency. SEO is well addressed through comprehensive meta tags, Open Graph, and Twitter card metadata. Accessibility considerations are evident in ARIA labels and semantic HTML usage. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by multiple third-party scripts for analytics and A/B testing. Technical debt appears low, but continuous monitoring of third-party dependencies is recommended to maintain security and performance standards.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 67/100Medium19 findingsView report
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