Skip to main content

Security report for goldcoastmarathon.com.au

Gold Coast Marathon · Transportation · Australia

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

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Gold Coast Marathon website represents a well-established annual sporting event held in Queensland, Australia. It caters to a broad audience including runners, spectators, charities, and community groups. The site provides comprehensive event information, race details, community engagement opportunities, and multimedia content such as live streams and event guides. The business model revolves around event management, sponsorships, merchandise, and partnerships with local and international organizations. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern frameworks like Bootstrap and integrates multiple third-party analytics and advertising tools. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly, offering a good user experience. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced, but lacks some advanced security headers and formal security policies. Privacy compliance is limited, with no visible privacy or cookie policies and no consent mechanisms, which is a notable gap. Overall, the domain registration is consistent with the business location and purpose, indicating legitimacy. Strategic improvements in privacy compliance and security policy transparency would enhance trust and compliance.

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

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 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

    • 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
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching goldcoastmarathon.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.

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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. See sample alerts.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
70
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
71

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 Gold Coast Marathon holds a strong market position as Australia's favourite marathon, attracting thousands of participants annually. Its competitive advantage lies in its scenic, flat, and fast course, appealing to both amateur and elite runners. The event fosters community involvement through charity fundraising and volunteering programs, enhancing its social impact. Revenue streams include participant fees, sponsorships from major brands like ASICS and China Airlines, merchandise sales, and partnerships with tourism and local businesses. The website's extensive partner ecosystem supports its operational and promotional activities. Growth indicators include expanding race categories and digital engagement via apps and live streaming. The business demonstrates a mature event management operation with a focus on participant experience and community value.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security maturity level. HTTPS is properly implemented, ensuring encrypted communications. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options reduces protection against certain web attacks. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information is published, limiting transparency and incident response readiness. The use of multiple third-party tracking scripts raises privacy concerns, especially without visible consent mechanisms. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The site would benefit from formalizing security policies, implementing security headers, and enhancing privacy compliance to align with GDPR and other regulations. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a public event website but has room for improvement.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to ensure GDPR and privacy law compliance.
  2. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-XSS-Protection to enhance web security.
  3. Publish a security.txt file and establish a vulnerability disclosure program to improve incident response and transparency.
  4. Review and minimize third-party tracking scripts and ensure user consent is obtained before data collection.
  5. Enable DNSSEC for the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing attacks.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Gold Coast Marathon
Description
The Gold Coast Marathon is an annual marathon event held on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It features multiple races including marathon, half marathon, 10km, 5km, wheelchair races, and junior dash. The event promotes community engagement, charity fundraising, and tourism.
Key services
Marathon and related race events, Race weekend organization, Charity fundraising opportunities, Community engagement and volunteering, Event app and live streaming, Merchandise and official expo
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Gravity Forms, jQuery, Bootstrap 5, Owl Carousel, Fancybox, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Quantcast
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of iframe sandboxing for forms
  • Async loading of analytics scripts

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Quantcast
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
DoubleClick
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Quantcast
Marketing tools
Facebook Pixel, Quantcast
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured.
  2. Content is rich with event information, news, and community engagement.
  3. Multiple external trusted partners and sponsors are linked.
  4. No explicit privacy or cookie policies found on the main page or footer.
  5. Use of multiple tracking and advertising scripts with no visible consent mechanism.
  6. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact is via forms and contact page.
  7. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information available.
  8. SSL is properly configured and enforced.
  9. No WAF or blocking detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS using Bootstrap 5 for responsive design and jQuery for interactivity. It integrates several third-party libraries including Owl Carousel for sliders and Fancybox for modals. Analytics and marketing tools include Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and Quantcast, loaded asynchronously to optimize performance. The site uses Gravity Forms for data collection, primarily for newsletter subscription and contact forms. Performance is moderate with lazy loading of images and fonts preloading to improve load times. Mobile optimization is good, with responsive navigation and accessible search functionality. SEO is supported by structured data (JSON-LD) and meta tags. Technical risks include reliance on multiple third-party scripts which may impact privacy and security. The hosting provider is not explicitly identified but domain registrar is Australian-based. Overall, the technical infrastructure is modern and well-maintained with opportunities for security hardening and privacy enhancements.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with goldcoastmarathon.com.au. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review goldcoastmarathon.com.au.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.