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Security report for yorkvilleu.ca

Yorkville University · Education · Canada

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Yorkville University is a Canadian private university offering flexible, career-focused undergraduate and graduate programs with a strong emphasis on student-centric learning and professional accreditation. The website demonstrates a mature digital presence with modern technologies including WordPress CMS, Yoast SEO, and integrated marketing and analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager and Marketo. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms implemented, although some security headers and incident response information are not publicly disclosed. The absence of WHOIS data suggests privacy protection for domain registration, which is common and justified for educational institutions. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and compliant with privacy regulations.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 100 · Low
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 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';…

  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.

    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching yorkvilleu.ca

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
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  • 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
75
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
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

Yorkville University targets prospective students seeking accelerated and online degree programs in business, arts, interior design, education, and behavioural sciences. The institution leverages partnerships and accreditations to enhance market credibility and offers a comprehensive digital experience with extensive analytics and marketing integrations. The business model focuses on flexible education delivery with year-round start dates and transfer credit options, positioning itself as a competitive player in the Canadian online education market. The university maintains a medium-sized footprint with over 25,000 alumni and a global student base.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS and Cloudflare Bot Management cookies, indicating a baseline security posture. Cookie consent is managed via CookieYes with granular user controls, supporting GDPR compliance. However, explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are not found, representing potential gaps in transparency and readiness. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. Security headers appear limited or not explicitly reported, suggesting room for improvement in defense-in-depth strategies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Consider establishing a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Enhance contact information visibility, including official support emails and phone numbers, to improve user trust and accessibility.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and cookies to ensure compliance with evolving privacy regulations and minimize tracking footprint.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Yorkville University
Description
Yorkville University offers flexible, relevant, and accessible education programs including undergraduate and graduate degrees with a focus on career relevance and student-centric learning.
Key services
Undergraduate degree programs, Graduate degree programs, Online and accelerated learning, Professional designation prerequisites
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.2, jQuery, Yoast SEO plugin, CookieYes cookie consent, Google Tag Manager, Marketo forms, Cloudflare (inferred from cookies)
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent with customization
  • Use of Cloudflare Bot Management cookies
  • No exposed sensitive data found

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, SiteImprove, Visual Website Optimiser, Powr, Segment
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google DoubleClick, Amazon Adsystem, StackAdapt, eXelate
Tracking pixels
Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Ads
Marketing tools
Marketo, Segment
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 cookie consent and privacy mechanisms in place
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage content
  4. Multiple professional accreditations and partnerships displayed
  5. Use of modern web technologies and SEO best practices
  6. No signs of phishing, malware, or suspicious domains
  7. WHOIS data unavailable, likely due to privacy protection or domain registration method
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 6.8.2 with a modern responsive design optimized for mobile and desktop. It uses popular plugins such as Yoast SEO for search engine optimization and CookieYes for cookie consent management. Analytics and marketing tools include Google Tag Manager, Marketo forms, Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, and Segment, indicating a sophisticated data collection and user behavior analysis infrastructure. Performance is moderate with video backgrounds and rich media content, balanced by CDN usage for static assets. Accessibility features such as skip links and ARIA roles are present, supporting inclusive user experience. Hosting provider details are not explicitly identified but Cloudflare services are inferred from cookies.
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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