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Security report for cowboys.com.au

North Queensland Cowboys · Other · Australia

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

72/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The North Queensland Cowboys website serves as the official digital presence for the professional rugby league club based in Townsville, Australia. It provides comprehensive information about the team, match fixtures, results, ticketing, membership, and community initiatives. The site targets rugby league fans and community members, offering a well-structured and branded platform for engagement. The business model revolves around fan engagement, merchandise sales, and event ticketing, positioning the Cowboys as a key player in the Australian rugby league market. Technically, the website employs modern JavaScript frameworks such as Vue.js and integrates multiple third-party marketing and analytics tools including Google Tag Manager, Optimizely, and Marketo. The site is mobile-optimized with good accessibility features and uses HTTPS with appropriate security headers, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. Performance is moderate, with room for SEO improvements. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good practices with HTTPS enforcement and security headers but lacks a public security policy or vulnerability disclosure page. Privacy compliance is basic, with privacy and cookie policies present and consent mechanisms implemented. No critical vulnerabilities or blocking mechanisms were detected. Overall, the website is trustworthy and professional, with a strong business credibility score. Recommendations include enhancing privacy compliance disclosures, adding a security policy page, and improving SEO metadata to further strengthen the site’s digital maturity and user trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

4 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

  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

    • 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

  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 cowboys.com.au

This scan found 22 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.

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  • 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
72
Security headers
70
Email security
70
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
72

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

The North Queensland Cowboys operate in the sports and entertainment sector, focusing on rugby league. Their market position is that of a professional NRL club with a loyal fan base and strong community ties. Revenue streams include ticket sales, merchandise, memberships, and sponsorships, notably with Toyota. The website reflects a business model centered on fan engagement and digital commerce. Partnerships with official NRL platforms and ticketing services indicate a well-integrated ecosystem. Growth indicators include active social media presence and ongoing community programs. The club maintains a consistent brand image and leverages digital tools for marketing and analytics, supporting strategic operations and fan outreach.

Security posture

The website exhibits a good security posture with HTTPS enabled and multiple security headers in place, reducing common web vulnerabilities. The absence of exposed sensitive data and use of secure forms indicate attention to security best practices. However, the lack of a public security policy or vulnerability disclosure mechanism limits transparency and incident response readiness. Privacy compliance is adequate but could be improved with clearer GDPR-related disclosures. The integration of multiple third-party scripts necessitates ongoing monitoring to mitigate potential risks. Overall, the site is secure for users but would benefit from enhanced security communication and formalized incident response channels.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and vulnerability disclosure page to improve transparency and user trust.
  2. Enhance GDPR compliance by providing clearer information on data processing and user rights.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to minimize security risks.
  4. Improve SEO metadata and structured data to increase search engine visibility and accessibility.
  5. Implement a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability reporting.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
North Queensland Cowboys Rugby League Football Club
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
North Queensland Cowboys
Description
The official website of the North Queensland Cowboys, a professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Key services
News and updates, Match fixtures and results, Ticket sales, Membership, Merchandise shop, Community engagement
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, AppDynamics, Google Tag Manager, Optimizely, Marketo, DoubleClick, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Facebook Pixel
Frameworks
Vue.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM), Marketo
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
DoubleClick
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Marketo Munchkin
Marketing tools
Optimizely, Marketo
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-branded for the North Queensland Cowboys rugby league club.
  2. Content is rich with match data, team info, and fan engagement features.
  3. No signs of adult or questionable content.
  4. Uses multiple third-party marketing and analytics tools.
  5. WHOIS data is privacy protected but consistent with Australian domain policies.
  6. No security blocking or WAF detected; site fully accessible.
  7. Good use of HTTPS and security headers.
  8. Privacy and cookie policies are present with consent mechanisms.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern tech stack with Vue.js for frontend interactivity and integrates enterprise-grade analytics and marketing tools such as AppDynamics, Google Tag Manager, Optimizely, and Marketo. The site is served over HTTPS with appropriate security headers, indicating a secure hosting environment. Performance is moderate, with potential improvements in load times and SEO optimization. Mobile responsiveness and accessibility are well addressed, providing a good user experience across devices. The absence of a detected CMS suggests a custom or proprietary platform. Hosting provider details are not explicitly identified. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports the business needs effectively but could benefit from SEO and performance tuning.
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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