60
mit.edu
Findings
3
·
3
·
2
Checks
8 passive
Executive Summary
AI-GENERATED
mit.edu scored 60/100, meeting baseline requirements but with 3 findings that require attention. The vendor can proceed with a remediation timeline agreement.
Critical gaps in: HSTS Header, Security Headers. Positive signals: Known Breaches, CVE Exposure, Certificate Hygiene all passed.
5 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.
Action Items
Ordered by priority · 5 items
1
Strengthen email authentication configuration
Email authentication is partially configured for mit.edu but has gaps. Actions needed: upgrade DMARC policy from 'none' to 'quarantine' or 'reject'. Until DMARC enforcement is active, spoofed emails may still reach recipients.
Compliance Impact
NIST CSFPR.AC-7
Email authentication is a required access control
Remediation Steps
1
Upgrade DMARC policy to p=quarantine (then p=reject after monitoring)
2
Verify with: nslookup -type=txt _dmarc.mit.edu
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2
Enable HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security)
The HSTS header is missing on mit.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
Remediation Steps
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://mit.edu | grep -i strict
4
Submit to hstspreload.org after confirming the header is correct
3
Add missing security headers (X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy)
3 of 5 recommended security headers are missing on mit.edu: X-Content-Type-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
Remediation Steps
1
Add: X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
2
Add: Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin
3
Add: Permissions-Policy: camera=(), microphone=(), geolocation=()
4
Verify with: curl -sI https://mit.edu | grep -iE 'content-security|x-frame|x-content|referrer|permissions'
4
Enable DNSSEC on your domain
Without DNSSEC, DNS responses for mit.edu can be spoofed, potentially redirecting users to malicious sites. This requires coordination with your domain registrar to publish DS records.
Compliance Impact
NIST 800-53SC-20
Secure name/address resolution service
Remediation Steps
1
Check if your DNS provider supports DNSSEC (Cloudflare, Route53, etc.)
2
Enable DNSSEC signing in your DNS provider dashboard
3
Add the DS record to your registrar for .edu TLD
4
Verify: dig +dnssec mit.edu
5
Upgrade to TLS 1.3
mit.edu negotiated TLSv1.2. TLS 1.2 is still compliant under all major security frameworks and is not a vulnerability. TLS 1.3 offers faster handshakes and removes legacy cipher negotiation. This is a best-practice improvement, not a compliance gap.
Remediation Steps
1
Update web server config to prefer TLS 1.3 (nginx: ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3)
2
Verify: openssl s_client -connect mit.edu:443 -tls1_3
Scan Findings
HSTS Header
Critical
Security Headers
Critical
DMARC / Email Security
Warning
DNS Configuration
Warning
TLS Configuration
Warning
Known Breaches
Healthy
CVE Exposure
Healthy
Certificate Hygiene
Healthy