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Is ardc.edu.au a Scam? Security Check Results - Australia Research Data Commons Reviews

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Is ardc.edu.au Safe? Security Analysis for Australia Research Data Commons

Check if ardc.edu.au is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationAustraliamedium
WordPressjQueryCloudflare DNSGoogle Tag ManagerHotjar+3 more
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 4:49:21 AM
65
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Australia Research Data Commons (ARDC) is a leading national research data infrastructure provider in Australia, offering digital research services and resources to accelerate research and innovation. The organization targets Australian researchers and institutions, providing access to datasets, tools, and advisory services. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand presence, with clear navigation and comprehensive content tailored to its audience. Technically, the site is built on WordPress, leveraging modern technologies such as Cloudflare DNS, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, PostHog, and New Relic for performance monitoring and analytics. The site is optimized for mobile and accessibility, delivering a fast and user-friendly experience. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities, though explicit security policies and incident response contacts are absent. Privacy compliance is partial, lacking clear privacy and cookie policies or consent mechanisms. Overall, ARDC demonstrates a mature digital presence with room for improvement in privacy transparency and security disclosures.

Detected Technologies

WordPressjQueryCloudflare DNSGoogle Tag ManagerHotjarPostHog analyticsNew Relic monitoringWP Rocket caching and optimization

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

ARDC holds a strong market position as Australia's essential research data infrastructure facility, serving the education sector. Its business model focuses on providing digital infrastructure and services to researchers, supported by national programs and projects. The organization maintains active social media channels and a resource hub, indicating engagement with its community. The website content and structured data confirm its role as a trusted entity in the research ecosystem. No parent or subsidiary companies are identified, suggesting ARDC operates as an independent entity. The presence of professional branding and comprehensive service offerings indicates a medium-sized organization with a clear strategic focus on research data commons.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Phone Numbers (1)

+6139902****

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website employs HTTPS with a good SSL configuration and uses Cloudflare DNS, enhancing security and performance. No security headers were explicitly detected in the provided data, which could be improved. The site avoids exposing sensitive information and uses modern libraries without known vulnerabilities. However, the absence of a published privacy policy, cookie consent mechanism, terms of service, and incident response contacts represents compliance gaps. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files were found, limiting transparency for security researchers. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from enhanced policy disclosures and security header implementation to improve trust and compliance.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a comprehensive privacy policy page and link it prominently on the website.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Australia Research Data Commons

Description:

Australian Research Data Commons: your national digital research infrastructure experts, accelerating your research and innovation.

Key Services:
Research data infrastructureDigital research servicesResource hub with datasets and toolsPrograms and projects leadershipAdvisory services
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressjQueryCloudflare DNSGoogle Tag ManagerHotjarPostHog analyticsNew Relic monitoringWP Rocket caching and optimization
Frameworks:
WordPress
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Cloudflare DNS
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics (via GTM)PostHogHotjarNew Relic
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
HotjarPostHog
Marketing Tools:
PostHogHotjar
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is professionally designed and well-structured.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

35/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=15552000"

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

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

17/100
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 business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity

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.ardc_edu_au._d.easydmarc.pro include:_spf.atlassian.net ~all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Subdomain Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:58d08c303b@rua.easydmarc.com
Forensic Reports:58d08c303b@ruf.easydmarc.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

75/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 33 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:ardc.edu.au
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:10/11/2025 (33 days)
SANs:ardc.edu.au, *.ardc.edu.au

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

75/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

Domain Transfer Lock Not Enabled

MEDIUM

Domain can be transferred without authorization

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Domain Registration Details

Protection Level
noneDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • No domain protection locks enabled

DNS Records

A Records:172.66.152.139, 104.20.28.154
AAAA Records:2606:4700:10::ac42:988b, 2606:4700:10::6814:1c9a
Name Servers:
arya.ns.cloudflare.com
woz.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
1: aspmx.l.google.com
10: aspmx2.googlemail.com
10: aspmx3.googlemail.com
SOA:Serial: 2382609547, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:238ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.ardc_edu_au._d.easydmarc.pro include:_spf.atlassian.net ~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 built on WordPress CMS with jQuery and uses Cloudflare for DNS management. It integrates multiple analytics and monitoring tools including Google Tag Manager, PostHog, Hotjar, and New Relic, indicating a mature approach to performance and user behavior tracking. WP Rocket is used for caching and optimization, contributing to fast load times. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with structured data implemented for SEO benefits. No deprecated or vulnerable libraries were detected. The technical infrastructure supports a robust and scalable platform suitable for the organization's needs, though security header enhancements and privacy compliance improvements are recommended.
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