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Is act.gov.au a Scam? Security Check Results - ACT Government Reviews

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Is act.gov.au Safe? Security Analysis for ACT Government

Check if act.gov.au is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

GovernmentAustraliaenterprise
Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsFacebook PixelLinkedIn Insight TagjQuery+3 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 1:14:29 PM
68
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The ACT Government website serves as the official digital portal for the Australian Capital Territory's government services and information. It covers a broad range of sectors including business, community, city services, education, emergency and safety, environment, health, housing, law and justice, money and tax, transport, and venues. The site targets residents, businesses, and visitors of the ACT, providing authoritative and comprehensive resources. Technically, the website is built on the Squiz Matrix CMS platform and integrates modern analytics and tracking tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and LinkedIn Insight Tag. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, although performance is moderate. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and domain registration protections in place, but could be improved by enabling DNSSEC and adding security headers. Privacy compliance is partial, with a privacy policy present but lacking explicit cookie consent mechanisms and GDPR compliance indicators. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and well-branded, reflecting its government entity status.

Detected Technologies

Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsFacebook PixelLinkedIn Insight TagjQueryjQuery UISquiz Matrix CMSGoogle Translate

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The ACT Government operates as an essential government entity providing a wide array of public services and information through its digital platform. Its market position is that of the primary official portal for the ACT, serving a large enterprise-scale audience including citizens, businesses, and visitors. The business model is service-oriented, focusing on information dissemination and facilitating access to government programs and resources. The website's ecosystem includes partnerships with various ACT directorates and agencies, as well as integration with external government-related domains. Growth indicators include active news updates, community engagement projects, and digital service expansions. The presence of multiple social media channels and subscription newsletters indicates a strategic approach to citizen engagement and communication.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS and domain status codes that prevent unauthorized domain modifications. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The site lacks publicly accessible incident response or security policies, which could enhance transparency and readiness. Tracking technologies are used responsibly, but privacy compliance could be strengthened with explicit cookie consent and GDPR adherence. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from enhanced DNS security and formalized security documentation.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC on the domain to protect against DNS spoofing and improve DNS security.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

ACT Government

Description:

Official website of the Australian Capital Territory Government providing information and services across multiple sectors including business, community, city services, education, emergency and safety, environment, health, housing, law and justice, money and tax, transport, venues and government information.

Key Services:
Business support and adviceCity services and infrastructureCommunity servicesEducation and trainingEmergency and safety informationEnvironmental managementHealth servicesHousing and planningLaw and justice resourcesMoney and tax information
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsFacebook PixelLinkedIn Insight TagjQueryjQuery UISquiz Matrix CMSGoogle Translate
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status includes serverDeleteProhibited, serverRenewProhibited, serverTransferProhibited, serverUpdateProhibited indicating strong domain protection

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsSiteimprove AnalyticsLinkedIn Insight TagFacebook Pixel
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Facebook PixelLinkedIn Insight Tag
Marketing Tools:
Siteimprove Analytics
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:good
User Experience:good
Content Relevance:good
Navigation Clarity:good
Professionalism:good
Trustworthiness:high

Key Observations

1

Website is official ACT Government portal with extensive public service information

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

40/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

Sensitive data may be cached

LOW

Cache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

53/100
Score

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

25/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

85/100
Score

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 include:spf.act.gov.au include:spf.mandrillapp.com -all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:selector2(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:8lol6eyi@ag.ap.dmarcian.com
Forensic Reports:8lol6eyi@fr.ap.dmarcian.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

77/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 35 days

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Enabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

85/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Registration Details

Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:43.245.43.0
Name Servers:
a.au
q.au
r.au
s.au
t.au
MX Records:
10: act-gov-au.mail.protection.outlook.com
SOA:Serial: 1757077982, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:457ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:spf.act.gov.au include:spf.mandrillapp.com -all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is powered by Squiz Matrix CMS, a robust enterprise content management system, and leverages widely used JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and jQuery UI. It integrates multiple analytics and marketing tools including Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and LinkedIn Insight Tag, indicating a mature digital marketing and user tracking strategy. The site uses Google Translate for multilingual support, enhancing accessibility for diverse users. Performance is moderate, with asynchronous loading of scripts and optimized CSS. The site is mobile responsive and includes accessibility features such as skip links and ARIA labels. Hosting appears to be managed by government infrastructure, ensuring reliability and compliance with government standards. Opportunities exist to modernize further by adopting newer JavaScript frameworks and improving performance metrics.
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