Skip to main content

Security report for northernstar.com.au

Daily Telegraph · Media · Australia

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

Security score

82/100

Risk levelLow

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

The Daily Telegraph's Lismore news section serves as a regional news portal delivering local news, sports, and events coverage for the Lismore area in New South Wales, Australia. It operates under the well-known Daily Telegraph brand, part of News Corp Australia, targeting residents and interested readers in the region. The business model is primarily digital news publishing supported by advertising and subscription services. The website demonstrates consistent branding and good content quality, positioning itself as a reputable regional news source. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including various analytics, advertising, and tag management tools. It employs responsive design for mobile optimization and uses HTTPS to secure communications. Performance is moderate with extensive third-party scripts that may impact load times. SEO and accessibility are adequately addressed with structured data and meta tags. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS and includes some security headers but lacks explicit Content-Security-Policy and other advanced headers. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy compliance is limited as no explicit privacy or cookie policies were found in the provided content, which is a notable gap. WHOIS data is privacy-protected, which is common for large media companies, but limits transparency. Overall, the website is trustworthy and professional with a strong market presence. However, improvements in privacy disclosures and security header implementation are recommended to enhance compliance and security posture.

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

2 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 Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

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

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

Keep watching northernstar.com.au

This scan found 15 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. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

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
90
Security headers
50
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
82

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 Daily Telegraph is a major Australian media company with a strong foothold in regional news markets such as Lismore. Its competitive advantage lies in brand recognition, extensive content coverage, and integration with subscription and rewards programs. Revenue streams include advertising, subscriptions, and partnerships with related service providers. The target customer segment includes local residents and sports fans. Growth indicators include digital transformation efforts and partnerships with travel and sports tipping services. The ecosystem includes partners like Plus Rewards and Outbrain, enhancing monetization and user engagement. Strategic observations suggest focusing on privacy compliance and performance optimization to maintain market leadership.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and use of security headers like X-UA-Compatible and Referrer-Policy. However, it lacks a Content-Security-Policy header and other advanced protections such as X-Frame-Options and Strict-Transport-Security headers, which are recommended best practices. No exposed credentials or vulnerabilities were found in the HTML content. The extensive use of third-party scripts introduces potential risk vectors that require ongoing monitoring. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing explicit privacy and cookie policies, which could expose the company to regulatory scrutiny. Incident response and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are not evident, indicating room for improvement in security governance.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a comprehensive and easily accessible privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to improve GDPR and privacy compliance.
  2. Add and enforce Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security headers to strengthen security posture.
  3. Conduct regular security audits of third-party scripts and remove or replace any that pose risks.
  4. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contact channels to enhance security transparency.
  5. Optimize website performance by reducing third-party script load and improving caching strategies to enhance user experience.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Daily Telegraph
Description
The website provides news and events coverage around Lismore, including sport and local news updates. It is part of the Daily Telegraph media group.
Key services
Local news reporting, Sports updates, Digital newspaper editions, Advertising
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, AMP (Google AMP story player), Prebid.js (header bidding), Google Tag Manager, DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), Amazon A9 (apstag.js), Chartbeat, CrazyEgg, Ipsos, Outbrain, Vidora, Nielsen, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Reddit Pixel, Pinterest Core, Bing Ads
Frameworks
WordPress (implied by wp-content paths), Newscorpau News DNA theme
Platforms
Desktop, Mobile (responsive design indicated)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of modern JavaScript libraries with async loading

Analytics and tracking

Services
Chartbeat, Nielsen, Ipsos, Google Analytics (implied via GTM), CrazyEgg
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
DoubleClick, Amazon A9, Outbrain, Bing Ads
Tracking pixels
Chartbeat, CrazyEgg, Ipsos, Nielsen, Reddit Pixel, LinkedIn Insight
Marketing tools
Optimizely, Vidora
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a regional news portal under the Daily Telegraph brand.
  2. Content is rich with local news, sports, and events.
  3. Extensive use of third-party analytics and advertising scripts.
  4. No privacy or cookie policy explicitly found in the provided HTML snippet.
  5. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in the HTML content.
  6. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  7. WHOIS data is privacy-protected with minimal information.
  8. Website uses HTTPS and modern web technologies.
  9. No signs of adult or NSFW content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress using a custom Newscorpau News DNA theme, leveraging modern JavaScript libraries and asynchronous script loading for performance. It integrates multiple analytics and advertising platforms including Google Tag Manager, DoubleClick, Amazon A9, Outbrain, and others. The site uses structured data (JSON-LD) for SEO and supports AMP stories. Mobile optimization is good with responsive design and preloading of fonts. However, the large number of third-party scripts may impact load times and increase attack surface. Security headers are partially implemented but could be improved. The site lacks visible hosting provider details but uses CDN and third-party services extensively. Overall, the technical infrastructure is robust but could benefit from performance tuning and enhanced security configurations.
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 northernstar.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 northernstar.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.