Overview
Findings
Actions
Details
Related
AI-Generated Summary
What this means
harvard.edu scored 72/100, meeting baseline requirements but with 1 finding that require attention. The vendor can proceed with a remediation timeline agreement.
Critical gaps in: HSTS Header, Security Headers. Positive signals: TLS Configuration, Known Breaches, CVE Exposure all passed.
3 action items identified, including 0 critical. The issues are configuration gaps, not architectural problems. A focused remediation effort of 2–5 days could address all findings.
How harvard.edu compares
Grade distribution across 2599 companies we've scanned. harvard.edu scores better than 47% of them.
84
A+
25
A
190
A-
196
B+
75
B
362
B-
129
C+
114
C
330
C-
119
D+
95
D
252
D-
628
F
harvard.edu — Grade C- (72/100)
2599 companies scanned
Security checks
Each check inspects a different part of harvard.edu's public security setup. Green means healthy, yellow needs attention, red is a problem.
HSTS Header
Strict-Transport-Security header is missing. Connections can be downgraded to HTTP via man-in-the-middle attacks.
Security Headers
Only 0/5 security headers present. Missing: CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy. This exposes the application to clickjacking, MIME-sniffing, and other client-side attacks.
DMARC / Email Security
Strengths: DMARC policy set to quarantine; DKIM configured (selectors: default, s1, s2, k1). Issues: No SPF record found.
TLS Configuration
TLSv1.3 negotiated with TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256-bit). Strong configuration with no deprecated protocols or weak ciphers detected.
Known Breaches
No known breaches found in public disclosure databases.
CVE Exposure
Detected technologies: nginx. No version information exposed — CVE matching not possible (this is good practice).
DNS Configuration
Strengths: 6 nameservers configured (a1-171.akam.net., a6-66.akam.net., a7-65.akam.net., a11-67.akam.net.); 2 MX records present; DNSSEC enabled; Zone transfers properly restricted.
Certificate Hygiene
Strengths: Certificate valid, 48 days remaining; Issued by Let's Encrypt.
Recommended actions
3 items
Steps to improve harvard.edu's security grade, ranked by impact.
1
Enable HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security)
The HSTS header is missing on harvard.edu. Without it, connections can be downgraded from HTTPS to HTTP via man-in-the-middle attacks. This is a straightforward server configuration change.
Compliance impact
PCI-DSS 4.0Req 6.4.1
Required application security controls
NIST 800-53SC-8
Transmission confidentiality and integrity
How to fix this
1
Add header: Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload
2
Verify all subdomains support HTTPS before adding includeSubDomains
3
Test with: curl -sI https://harvard.edu | grep -i strict
4
Submit to hstspreload.org after confirming the header is correct
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2
Add missing security headers (CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy)
5 of 5 recommended security headers are missing on harvard.edu: CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy. These headers protect against clickjacking, MIME-sniffing, and unauthorized browser feature access. Adding them is a server configuration change with no application code changes required.
Compliance impact
PCI-DSS 4.0Req 6.4.1
Security headers are required application controls
OWASPSecure Headers
Recommended baseline for web applications
How to fix this
1
Add Content-Security-Policy header (start with report-only to avoid breakage)
2
Add: X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
3
Add: X-Frame-Options: DENY (or SAMEORIGIN if you use iframes)
4
Add: Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin
5
Add: Permissions-Policy: camera=(), microphone=(), geolocation=()
6
Verify with: curl -sI https://harvard.edu | grep -iE 'content-security|x-frame|x-content|referrer|permissions'
3
Strengthen email authentication configuration
Email authentication is partially configured for harvard.edu but has gaps. Actions needed: add SPF record. Until DMARC enforcement is active, spoofed emails may still reach recipients.
Compliance impact
NIST CSFPR.AC-7
Email authentication is a required access control
How to fix this
1
Add SPF record if missing: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com -all
2
Verify with: nslookup -type=txt _dmarc.harvard.edu
At a glance
Key data points from the scan.
TLS Version
TLSv1.3
TLSv1.3 negotiated with TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256-bit). Strong configuration with no deprecated protocols or weak ciphers detected.
DMARC Policy
p=quarantine
Strengths: DMARC policy set to quarantine; DKIM configured (selectors: default, s1, s2, k1). Issues: No SPF record found.
SPF Record
Missing
No SPF record found.
Security Headers
0/5 present
Missing: CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy
HSTS
Not enabled
Strict-Transport-Security header is missing. Connections can be downgraded to HTTP via man-in-the-middle attacks.
SSL Certificate
Valid
Strengths: Certificate valid, 48 days remaining; Issued by Let's Encrypt.
DNSSEC
Enabled
Strengths: 6 nameservers configured (a1-171.akam.net., a6-66.akam.net., a7-65.akam.net., a11-67.akam.net.); 2 MX records present; DNSSEC enabled; Zone transfers properly restricted.