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Security report for cheerunion.org

International Cheer Union · Education · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

64/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The International Cheer Union (ICU) is a globally recognized non-profit organization serving as the world governing body for the sport of cheerleading and performance cheer. Established in 2004, ICU represents 121 national federations and over 10 million athletes worldwide. The organization provides governance, education, certification, and organizes international championships, positioning itself as a key authority in the cheerleading sports sector. The website reflects a professional and content-rich platform targeting athletes, coaches, judges, and member federations globally. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including SiteOrigin Panels and WP Carousel Pro. It integrates Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing. The site is mobile-optimized with good SEO and accessibility basics, though some security headers and DNSSEC could be improved. Hosting appears stable with Cloudflare DNS and a reputable registrar. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer protections in place. However, the absence of DNSSEC and some security headers like Content-Security-Policy are areas for enhancement. Privacy compliance is strong with clear privacy and cookie policies and GDPR considerations. Contact information is transparent and includes multiple channels. Overall, ICU's digital presence is trustworthy and professional, supporting its role as a global sports governing body. Strategic improvements in security headers and DNS security would further strengthen its posture. No critical vulnerabilities or content safety concerns were identified.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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

6 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. 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

  3. 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 Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching cheerunion.org

This scan found 25 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • 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
47
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
64

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

ICU holds a strong market position as the official international governing body for cheerleading, recognized by the IOC and other major sports organizations. Its business model focuses on non-profit governance, education, and event management. Revenue streams likely include membership fees, educational course fees, sponsorships, and event hosting. The organization targets a global audience of athletes, coaches, and federations, with a well-established partnership ecosystem including Olympic bodies and international sports federations. The website content and partnerships indicate a mature and reputable operation with consistent branding and trust signals.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security maturity level. HTTPS is enforced, and domain registration includes clientTransferProhibited status, reducing risk of unauthorized transfers. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which could expose DNS spoofing risks. Security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Content-Type-Options are not detected, which are recommended to mitigate common web vulnerabilities. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy is present, limiting transparency for security researchers. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms are implemented, supporting compliance. Overall, the security posture is adequate but could benefit from enhancements in DNS security and HTTP headers.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS integrity and security.
  2. Implement a Content-Security-Policy header to reduce cross-site scripting risks.
  3. Add security headers such as X-Content-Type-Options and Referrer-Policy for enhanced protection.
  4. Publish a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  5. Regularly review and update privacy and cookie policies to maintain GDPR compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
International Cheer Union
Description
The International Cheer Union (ICU) is the recognized world governing body of Cheer (Cheerleading & Performance Cheer), comprising 121 member National Cheer Federations and 10 million athletes worldwide.
Key services
Governance and regulation of cheerleading, Educational courses and certifications, Organization of international championships, Safeguarding and anti-doping policies
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.3, jQuery, SiteOrigin Panels, WP Carousel Pro, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Cloudflare DNS
Frameworks
WordPress, SiteOrigin Page Builder
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status
  • Cookie consent implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google AdSense
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and content-rich.
  2. Clear governance and educational focus for cheerleading sport.
  3. Strong international partnerships and recognitions.
  4. Good contact information and social media presence.
  5. Uses WordPress CMS with common plugins and Google Analytics.
  6. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  7. Security headers could be improved.
  8. DNSSEC not enabled.
  9. Cookie consent implemented.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using version 6.8.3, leveraging SiteOrigin Panels for layout and WP Carousel Pro for image carousels. It uses jQuery and integrates Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics for tracking and marketing. The site loads multiple CSS and JS assets from its own domain and trusted third parties like YouTube and Google. Performance is moderate with some heavy image assets but overall good mobile optimization. Accessibility features are basic but present. The technical stack is modern and maintainable, though some security best practices like DNSSEC and advanced HTTP headers are missing, representing opportunities for technical improvement.
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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