# BeaverCheck Audit Report — https://brookings.edu **Date:** April 21, 2026 **URL:** https://brookings.edu **Overall Grade:** C (72/100) **Report:** https://beavercheck.com/results/0ae4b3e4-b267-4806-9770-33243582c2c5 ## Top Findings 1. **[CRITICAL]** Content-Security-Policy header is missing — Security > Security Headers 2. **[CRITICAL]** HSTS header is missing — Security > Security Headers 3. **[CRITICAL]** No Content-Security-Policy header found — Security > Content Security Policy 4. **[CRITICAL]** Page weighs 32.3 MB (5.7 MB transferred) — Performance > Page Weight Budget 5. **[CRITICAL]** 1 button(s) with no accessible text — Accessibility > Link & Button Quality --- ## Lighthouse Scores | Category | Score | |----------|-------| | Performance | 30 | | Accessibility | 91 | | Best Practices | 81 | | SEO | 92 | --- ## Security ### Security Headers (F — 0/100) *0 of 10 headers properly configured* - **[CRITICAL]** HSTS header is missing — Strict-Transport-Security forces browsers to use HTTPS, preventing downgrade attacks. Add the header with a max-age of at least 1 year. - **[WARNING]** X-Content-Type-Options header is missing — This header prevents MIME-type sniffing, which can lead to XSS attacks. Set it to 'nosniff'. - **[WARNING]** X-Frame-Options header is missing — This header prevents clickjacking by controlling who can embed your page in a frame. Set it to DENY or SAMEORIGIN. - **[WARNING]** Referrer-Policy header is missing — Controls how much referrer information is sent with requests. Set to 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin' or stricter. - **[WARNING]** Permissions-Policy header is missing — Controls which browser features (camera, microphone, geolocation) are allowed. Set it to restrict unused features. - **[CRITICAL]** Content-Security-Policy header is missing — CSP is the most important header for preventing XSS attacks. See the CSP section for detailed analysis. - **[WARNING]** Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy header is missing — COOP isolates your browsing context, preventing cross-origin side-channel attacks. Set to 'same-origin'. - **[WARNING]** Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy header is missing — COEP prevents loading cross-origin resources without explicit permission. Required for SharedArrayBuffer and high-resolution timers. - **[WARNING]** X-Powered-By header reveals technology stack — This header discloses server technology (e.g. Express, PHP), helping attackers target known vulnerabilities. Remove it. - **[WARNING]** Server header reveals version information — The Server header discloses the software version, aiding attackers in targeting known vulnerabilities. Remove the version number. ### Content Security Policy (F — 0/100) *No enforcing CSP policy found* - **[CRITICAL]** No Content-Security-Policy header found — CSP is the most effective defense against XSS attacks. Add a Content-Security-Policy header to restrict resource loading. ### TLS & Certificates (A+ — 100/100) *TLS 1.3, 7 checks passed* - **[PASS]** TLS 1.3 is used - **[PASS]** Strong cipher suite is used - **[INFO]** HTTP/2 is not negotiated — HTTP/2 provides multiplexing and header compression for better performance. - **[PASS]** Certificate is valid (expires in 124 days) - **[PASS]** Certificate chain has 2 certificates - **[PASS]** Certificate uses modern signature algorithm - **[PASS]** Certificate covers 1 domain(s) - **[PASS]** Certificate is issued by a trusted CA ### Cookie Security (A+ — 100/100) *No cookies set — no cookie security risks* - **[PASS]** No cookies set — no cookie security risks --- ## Advanced Security ### Subresource Integrity (D — 40/100) *1 of 25 external resources have SRI* - **[WARNING]** External script from www.googletagmanager.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.googletagmanager.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.googletagmanager.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.googletagmanager.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[PASS]** script from www.gstatic.com has SRI protection - **[WARNING]** External link from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External link from fonts.googleapis.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External link from cdn.jsdelivr.net lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External link from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External link from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External link from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External link from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cdn.jsdelivr.net lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cdn.jsdelivr.net lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.google.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cmp.osano.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from experiments.parsely.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cdn.parsely.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.brookings.edu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from stats.wp.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. ### JS Library Vulnerabilities (A+ — 100/100) *No known vulnerabilities* - **[PASS]** No known JavaScript library vulnerabilities detected ### Information Leakage (A+ — 100/100) *No exposures* - **[INFO]** No security.txt found — Consider adding a security.txt at /.well-known/security.txt. - **[PASS]** No sensitive files exposed ### Email Security (A — 85/100) *DMARC: quarantine* - **[PASS]** DMARC policy is quarantine — good protection ### Permissions-Policy (D — 40/100) *No header set* - **[WARNING]** No Permissions-Policy header — Consider adding a Permissions-Policy header to restrict browser feature access from embedded content. ### CORS Configuration (B — 80/100) *No CORS headers* - **[PASS]** No CORS headers present — secure default --- ## Performance ### Page Weight Budget (F — 0/100) *5.7 MB transferred, 90 requests* - **[CRITICAL]** Page weighs 32.3 MB (5.7 MB transferred) - **[WARNING]** Images are 3.6 MB — compress or use modern formats — Convert images to WebP/AVIF and resize to display dimensions to reduce transfer size. - **[WARNING]** JavaScript is 1.7 MB — consider code splitting or lazy loading — Large JavaScript bundles delay interactivity. Split code by route or defer non-critical scripts. - **[INFO]** CSS is 208 KB — consider purging unused styles — Remove unused CSS rules with tools like PurgeCSS to reduce stylesheet size. - **[INFO]** 90 HTTP requests - **[INFO]** Estimated 1.2 g CO2 per page load ### Third-Party Impact (D — 50/100) *100% third-party, 0 ms blocking* - **[WARNING]** Third-party code accounts for 100% of page weight (5.7 MiB of 5.7 MiB) - **[PASS]** Third-party blocking time is low (0 ms) ### Text Compression (A+ — 100/100) *All text resources are compressed* - **[PASS]** All text resources are compressed ### Image Optimization (B — 75/100) *45 images, 0 KB saveable* - **[PASS]** All images are well-optimized ### JS Execution Cost (F — 20/100) *8037ms total JS execution* - **[WARNING]** https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/themes/brooki...: 2181ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** Unattributable: 1170ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** https://www.gstatic.com/recaptcha/releases/gTpTIWh...: 974ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** https://www.brookings.edu/: 909ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-WHW...: 602ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** Third-party scripts: 8037ms (100% of total) ### Font Loading (A+ — 100/100) *3 fonts (165 KB)* - **[INFO]** 3 font(s) use font-display: swap (FOUT risk but functional) ### JS Bundles (F — 20/100) *23 scripts, 946 KB unused* - **[WARNING]** https://www.gstatic.com/recaptcha/releases/gTpTIWh...: 177 KB unused (49%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[WARNING]** https://www.gstatic.com/recaptcha/releases/gTpTIWh...: 177 KB unused (49%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[WARNING]** https://www.gstatic.com/recaptcha/releases/gTpTIWh...: 177 KB unused (49%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[WARNING]** https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/destination?...: 66 KB unused (46%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[WARNING]** https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-PQL1...: 66 KB unused (42%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[INFO]** Total unused JavaScript: 946 KB ### Resource Caching (A+ — 100/100) *All resources properly cached* - **[PASS]** No caching issues found ### Critical Rendering Path (A+ — 100/100) *No render-blocking resources* - **[PASS]** No render-blocking resources detected ### Resource Hints (A+ — 100/100) *4 hints, 0 missing preconnects* - **[PASS]** Page uses 4 resource hint(s) ### Page Weight Inventory (F — 25/100) *90 resources · 5.7 MB · 946 KB savings available* - **[WARNING]** Page weight 4.7 MB over 1MB target - **[INFO]** ~946 KB of savings available - **[WARNING]** 89 third-party resources (100% of weight) - **[INFO]** 7 resources over 200KB ### Render-Blocking Resources (A+ — 100/100) *No render-blocking resources detected* - **[PASS]** No render-blocking resources detected in ### Third-Party Resources (A+ — 100/100) *No third-party resources detected* --- ## Content Quality ### Links (A — 90/100) *193 links checked, 191 healthy, 2 broken* - **[WARNING]** 191 of 193 links are healthy - **[WARNING]** Broken link: https://fonts.googleapis.com — Found in . Returns HTTP 404. - **[CRITICAL]** Broken link: https://www.instagram.com/brookingsinst/ — Found in . Returns HTTP 429. ### Mixed Content (A+ — 100/100) *No mixed content detected — all resources use HTTPS.* - **[PASS]** No mixed content detected — all resources use HTTPS ### Open Graph (A+ — 100/100) *Open Graph tags are well configured for social sharing.* - **[INFO]** og:description is long (237 characters) — Descriptions over 200 characters may be truncated in social sharing previews. ### Structured Data (B — 85/100) *2 JSON-LD block(s) found — some improvements recommended.* - **[WARNING]** Missing or invalid @context in block #2 — The @context should be "https://schema.org" for search engines to recognize the data. - **[PASS]** 2 blocks of custom type "WebPage" — unable to validate specific properties - **[PASS]** 2 JSON-LD blocks found --- ## Infrastructure ### DNS Records (A+ — 95/100) *1 A records, 120 ms lookup* - **[PASS]** Resolves to 1 IPv4 address(es) - **[INFO]** Single A record — no DNS redundancy — Multiple A records provide failover if one server goes down. - **[INFO]** No IPv6 (AAAA) records - **[PASS]** 4 nameserver(s) configured - **[PASS]** 1 mail exchanger(s) configured - **[INFO]** CAA records not checked — CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update. - **[PASS]** SPF record present in TXT - **[PASS]** DNS resolution time: 120 ms ### Redirect Chain (B — 70/100) *2 redirect(s), 188 ms total* - **[WARNING]** 2 redirects before reaching final URL — Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop. - **[INFO]** HTTP to HTTPS redirect present - **[INFO]** WWW normalization redirect - **[WARNING]** 2-hop chain could be reduced to 1 hop — Redirect directly from https://brookings.edu to https://www.brookings.edu/ - **[INFO]** Uses 302 (temporary) redirect — If permanent, use 301 instead. ### IPv6 Readiness (C — 60/100) *No IPv6 support* - **[INFO]** No IPv6 (AAAA) records found — IPv6 support is increasingly important for global accessibility. About 40% of internet users have IPv6 connectivity. ### Crawlability (A+ — 95/100) *robots.txt present, sitemap with 107 URLs* - **[PASS]** robots.txt is present - **[PASS]** sitemap.xml is present - **[PASS]** sitemap.xml is valid XML - **[PASS]** sitemap.xml contains 107 entries - **[PASS]** Sitemap index with 107 child sitemaps - **[INFO]** robots.txt does not reference a sitemap — Add a 'Sitemap:' directive to robots.txt so search engines can discover your sitemap. ### URL Variants (D — 50/100) *www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS* - **[CRITICAL]** Both www and non-www versions serve content - **[CRITICAL]** HTTP version does not redirect to HTTPS ### Domain Intelligence (A+ — 100/100) *brookings.edu — 30 years old, hosted on Microsoft Azure* - **[PASS]** Domain registered until Jul 31, 2026 (3 months remaining) - **[PASS]** Hosting: Microsoft Azure --- ## Compliance ### WCAG Compliance (A+ — 100/100) *No testable criteria* ### Cookie Consent & Privacy (B — 80/100) *No consent signals detected* - **[WARNING]** No privacy policy link detected — A privacy policy page is recommended for transparency and may be legally required. - **[INFO]** No terms of service link detected - **[INFO]** No cookie consent banner detected - **[INFO]** This is an automated check, not legal advice — BeaverCheck detects technical indicators of consent management. This does not constitute a legal compliance assessment. Consult a privacy professional for GDPR/CCPA compliance. ### Language & i18n (A — 90/100) *Lang attribute present* - **[PASS]** attribute is present - **[PASS]** value is valid - **[INFO]** No Content-Language HTTP header - **[INFO]** Language signals are inconsistent — The attribute and Content-Language header should agree. ### Readability & Typography (A+ — 100/100) *Font sizes and tap targets checked* ### Viewport Configuration (A+ — 100/100) *Viewport properly configured* - **[PASS]** Viewport meta tag is present - **[PASS]** width=device-width is set - **[PASS]** User zooming is allowed ### Third-Party Trackers (C — 55/100) *4 trackers detected* - **[INFO]** 4 third-party trackers detected — Found 3 analytics, 0 advertising, 0 marketing, 1 tag manager trackers. - **[WARNING]** Trackers detected but no cookie policy found — This page loads 4 trackers but no cookie policy was detected. GDPR requires disclosure when using tracking cookies. - **[WARNING]** Trackers detected but no privacy policy found — Most data protection regulations require a privacy policy when collecting user data via trackers. ### Cookie & Tracker Inventory (A+ — 100/100) *0 cookies · 4 trackers · 0 pre-consent* - **[INFO]** 4 third-party tracker(s) detected on page --- ## Legal ### Legal Page Ecosystem (C — 60/100) *2 of 7 expected legal pages detected* - **[PASS]** Privacy Policy detected — Found at https://www.brookings.edu/brookings-institution-privacy-policy/. - **[PASS]** Terms of Service detected — Found at https://www.brookings.edu/terms-of-use/, linked from footer. - **[INFO]** Cookie Policy not detected — No link matching common Cookie Policy URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a Cookie Policy, especially those collecting user data. - **[INFO]** Accessibility Statement not detected — No link matching common Accessibility Statement URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a Accessibility Statement, especially those collecting user data. - **[INFO]** DMCA / Copyright Notice not detected — No link matching common DMCA / Copyright Notice URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a DMCA / Copyright Notice, especially those collecting user data. - **[INFO]** Refund / Returns Policy not detected — No link matching common Refund / Returns Policy URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a Refund / Returns Policy, especially those collecting user data. - **[INFO]** Acceptable Use Policy not detected — No link matching common Acceptable Use Policy URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a Acceptable Use Policy, especially those collecting user data. ### Copyright Notice (A+ — 100/100) *Copyright 2026 The Brookings Institution* - **[PASS]** Copyright notice is up to date — Copyright notice is up to date: Copyright 2026 The Brookings Institution - **[PASS]** Copyright holder: The Brookings Institution ### Regulatory Indicators *2 regulatory indicator(s) detected* - **[INFO]** This is a technical scan, not a legal assessment — BeaverCheck detects technical indicators that may suggest regulatory relevance. This is not a compliance audit and should not be relied upon for legal decisions. Consult qualified legal counsel for compliance assessments. - **[INFO]** GDPR indicators detected (moderate confidence) — Indicators suggesting GDPR may be relevant: Consent management platform detected: osano.com. EU General Data Protection Regulation — governs collection and processing of personal data of EU residents. - **[INFO]** HIPAA indicators detected (weak confidence) — Indicators suggesting HIPAA may be relevant: Text mentions: phi. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — protects sensitive patient health information. ### Third-Party Data Sharing *3 third-party service(s) detected* - **[INFO]** Data inventory for transparency purposes — This inventory identifies third-party services that receive data from your site visitors. Under regulations like GDPR (Article 30), maintaining records of data processing activities is commonly considered a best practice. This automated scan provides a starting point — it may not capture all data flows. - **[INFO]** 3 third-party services across 3 categories — 3 third-party services detected across 3 categories: Analytics (1), Tag Management (1), Security (1). Each of these services receives some user data from your site visitors. - **[INFO]** Google Analytics (Analytics) — Detected via script URL. Typically collects: Page views, User behavior, Demographics, Device info, IP address. Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy. Data Processing Agreement available. - **[INFO]** Google Tag Manager (Tag Management) — Detected via script URL. Typically collects: Orchestrates other tracking scripts, Page views. Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy. Data Processing Agreement available. - **[INFO]** reCAPTCHA (Security) — Detected via script URL. Typically collects: Browser behavior, Device info, IP address. Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy. Data Processing Agreement available. ### Compliance Badges (C — 55/100) *0 compliance badge(s) detected* - **[INFO]** No compliance badges detected — No recognized compliance certification badges or seals were found. This is common — many sites do not display compliance badges. --- ## Availability ### CDN & Delivery (D — 50/100) *No CDN detected* - **[WARNING]** No CDN detected — A CDN can significantly improve load times for users around the world by caching content at edge nodes closer to them. ### HTTP Caching (F — 30/100) *No cache headers* - **[WARNING]** No Cache-Control header found — Browsers will use heuristic caching, which can be unpredictable. Set explicit cache headers. ### Transport Security (B — 75/100) *HTTP/3, HSTS, and TLS version analysis* - **[INFO]** HTTP/3 (QUIC) not advertised — HTTP/3 eliminates head-of-line blocking. If your CDN supports it, consider enabling it. - **[WARNING]** Missing Strict-Transport-Security header — HSTS tells browsers to only use HTTPS, preventing SSL stripping attacks. - **[PASS]** TLS 1.3 in use (fastest handshake, 1-RTT) --- ## Accessibility ### Landmark Structure (B — 75/100) *8 landmarks* - **[PASS]**
landmark present - **[PASS]** 5