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Security report for auda.org.au

.au Domain Administration (auDA) · Government · Australia

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view.

Security score

84/100

Risk levelLow

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

The .au Domain Administration (auDA) is a well-established Australian non-profit organization responsible for managing and administering the .au domain namespace. It serves as the authoritative body for domain policy, registrar accreditation, and stakeholder engagement within Australia’s internet infrastructure. The website reflects a professional and authoritative presence, targeting domain registrants, registrars, and internet stakeholders in Australia. The business model is focused on governance and policy enforcement rather than commercial sales, positioning auDA as a key player in the Australian internet ecosystem. Technically, the website is built on a modern Gatsby framework leveraging React and JavaScript, delivering fast performance and excellent mobile responsiveness. The site employs HTTPS with strong security headers, indicating a mature security posture. Privacy and cookie policies are comprehensive and GDPR-compliant, reflecting good privacy practices. However, explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly detailed, which could be improved. Security-wise, the site benefits from HTTPS encryption, proper security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. The absence of a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file is a minor gap. Overall, the security posture is strong for a government-related domain administration entity. The overall risk assessment is low, with the website demonstrating high professionalism, trustworthiness, and compliance. Strategic recommendations include publishing explicit security and incident response policies, adding vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, and maintaining regular security audits to sustain trust and resilience.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of auda.org.au. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

2 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.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
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  • 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
100
Security headers
75
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
84

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

auDA holds a unique market position as the sole administrator of the .au domain, operating as a non-profit government-related entity. Its competitive advantage lies in its authoritative role and policy governance over the Australian domain namespace. Revenue streams are likely derived from registrar accreditation fees and related services rather than direct consumer sales. The target customer segments include domain registrants, registrars, government bodies, and internet stakeholders. Growth indicators include ongoing policy development and stakeholder consultations. The partnership ecosystem includes accredited registrars and government agencies. The company operates with a medium organizational size and maintains a consistent brand identity aligned with its governance role.

Security posture

The security maturity level of auDA’s website is high, with HTTPS enforced and multiple security headers implemented. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Compliance with privacy regulations is evident through detailed privacy and cookie policies. However, the lack of a published security policy, incident response plan, or vulnerability disclosure program suggests room for improvement in transparency and readiness. Data protection practices appear sound, but explicit contact channels for security incidents are absent. The security culture is implied to be mature given the organization’s role, but explicit indicators are limited on the website.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response information on the website.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file.
  3. Provide a direct security contact email address for reporting incidents or vulnerabilities.
  4. Regularly review and update third-party libraries and dependencies to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance transparency around data protection officer contact and data retention policies.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
auDA - .au Domain Administration Limited
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
.au Domain Administration (auDA)
Description
.au Domain Administration (auDA) is the Australian not-for-profit organisation responsible for administering the .au domain.
Key services
Administering .au domain namespace, Policy development and enforcement, Registrar accreditation, Stakeholder consultation
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Gatsby, JavaScript, CSS
Frameworks
Gatsby
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is comprehensive and professionally presented.
  3. Strong focus on .au domain administration and policy.
  4. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  5. Good security posture with HTTPS and security headers.
  6. Privacy and cookie policies are present and detailed.
  7. No explicit security incident response or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  8. No advertising or tracking beyond standard analytics detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern static site generator (Gatsby) using React, ensuring fast load times and excellent mobile optimization. The technical infrastructure supports good SEO practices with proper meta tags and Open Graph data. Accessibility features are present but could be further enhanced. Hosting details are not explicitly identified but the performance and security headers suggest a reputable hosting environment. The site shows no signs of technical debt or legacy technology, indicating a well-maintained and modern digital platform. Opportunities exist to integrate more explicit security and compliance metadata to further strengthen the technical posture.
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. 83/100 −1Low23 findingsView report
  2. 84/100Low21 findingsView report
  3. 75/100Medium3 findings · partial scanView report
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