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Security report for gamecocksonline.com

University of South Carolina Athletics · Education · United States

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The University of South Carolina Athletics official website serves as a comprehensive digital platform delivering extensive coverage of the South Carolina Gamecocks sports teams. It provides schedules, scores, multimedia content, and fan engagement tools, positioning itself as the authoritative source for collegiate athletics related to the university. The site targets sports fans, students, alumni, and the broader university community, leveraging a content-driven business model supported by partnerships and ticketing services. Technically, the website is built on WordPress and integrates modern JavaScript libraries and APIs such as YouTube, Hotjar, and Iubenda for cookie management. Hosting is provided by Rackspace, and the site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices. The technical infrastructure supports a moderate performance level with a focus on user experience and content delivery. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, employs multiple security headers, and implements a cookie consent mechanism aligned with GDPR requirements. However, it lacks explicit security policies and incident response contact information, which could be improved. No vulnerabilities or suspicious activities were detected, and the WHOIS data confirms a long-standing, legitimate domain registration consistent with the university's branding. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with strong business credibility and compliance posture. Strategic enhancements in security transparency and direct contact information for incident response would further strengthen its security maturity and trustworthiness.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 100 · Low
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

5 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 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 gamecocksonline.com

This scan found 24 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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Recommended

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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
62
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
67

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 website occupies a strong market position as the official digital presence for University of South Carolina Athletics, offering exclusive content and services to a dedicated audience. Its business model revolves around content provision, fan engagement, and event ticketing, supported by partnerships with ticketing platforms and fan services. The site benefits from the university's brand equity and leverages multiple marketing and analytics tools to optimize user engagement and monetization. Growth indicators include comprehensive sports coverage and integration with fan experience platforms. The partnership ecosystem includes ticketing and videoboard messaging services, enhancing the overall fan experience and revenue streams.

Security posture

The security posture of the website is solid, with HTTPS enforced and a suite of security headers implemented to protect against common web vulnerabilities. The presence of a cookie consent mechanism demonstrates compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicates room for improvement in transparency and readiness. The use of third-party scripts necessitates ongoing vigilance to mitigate supply chain risks. Overall, the site maintains a secure environment appropriate for its content and audience but should enhance its security governance documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and incident response procedures.
  3. Add a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  4. Provide direct security contact channels such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
University of South Carolina Athletics
Description
The Official Athletic Site of the University of South Carolina Athletics, partner of WMT Digital. The most comprehensive coverage of the South Carolina Gamecocks on the web with highlights, scores, game summaries, and rosters.
Key services
Sports news coverage, Game schedules and scores, Multimedia content (videos, photos), Ticketing information, Fan engagement tools
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, YouTube API, Iubenda Cookie Solution, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, WMT Video Player, Swiper.js
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Hotjar
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google DoubleClick, Google Ad Manager
Tracking pixels
Hotjar, Facebook Pixel, Twitter Universal Website Tag
Marketing tools
Iubenda Cookie Solution
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official university athletics website with comprehensive sports coverage.
  2. Strong branding and consistent content quality.
  3. Good privacy and cookie compliance with consent mechanisms.
  4. Use of multiple third-party analytics and marketing tools with consent.
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  6. No direct contact emails or phone numbers publicly listed; contact via form.
  7. No explicit security policy or incident response information found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website utilizes a modern WordPress CMS with integrations of JavaScript libraries and APIs for video content, analytics, and cookie management. Hosting on Rackspace provides a reliable infrastructure. The site demonstrates good mobile responsiveness, accessibility, and SEO optimization. Performance is moderate, with potential for improvement through optimization of third-party scripts and caching strategies. The technical stack is well-suited for content delivery and fan engagement but should consider modernization opportunities such as progressive web app features or enhanced security headers for further resilience.
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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