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Is dfat.gov.au a Scam? Security Check Results - Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

dfat.gov.au Security Report Summary

dfat.gov.au received a security score of 39 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Potentially Unsafe". This report covers Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website security posture. Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade operates in the Government industry in Australia.

The Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) operates as the primary government agency responsible for managing Australia's international relations, trade, and diplomatic efforts. The website serves as an authoritative source of information for Australian citizens, international partners, businesses, and travelers, providing comprehensive content on foreign affairs, trade agreements, development programs, consular services, and travel advice. The site is well-branded, professionally designed, and consistent with government standards, reflecting its enterprise-level stature within the government sector. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10 and hosted on GovCMS, a platform tailored for Australian government entities. It integrates modern tools such as Google Tag Manager and ReadSpeaker for analytics and accessibility. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices. However, performance metrics are unavailable, and some technical debt is evident in the lack of a valid SSL certificate and disabled TLS protocols, which critically impact security posture. From a security perspective, the absence of a valid SSL certificate and TLS support is a significant vulnerability, exposing users to potential data interception and undermining trust. While security headers like X-Content-Type-Options and X-Frame-Options are correctly implemented, the lack of HTTPS and session security mechanisms lowers the overall security score. Privacy compliance is partial, with a comprehensive privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism despite the use of tracking scripts. Contact information is clearly provided, enhancing business credibility. Overall, the website is a high-quality government portal with excellent content and user experience but suffers from critical security shortcomings that must be addressed urgently to protect users and maintain trust. Strategic improvements in SSL/TLS deployment, privacy compliance, and security best practices are recommended to elevate the site's security posture and compliance standards.

The security scan identified 24 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: Drupal 10, GovCMS, Google Tag Manager, ReadSpeaker, Drupal.

About this security scan

Guard performs automated security assessments of websites by analyzing SSL/TLS certificates, HTTP security headers, DNS configuration, email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), GDPR compliance indicators, NIS2 directive compliance, network exposure, and AI-powered business intelligence. Each report provides domain-specific findings, risk scores, and actionable recommendations.

A

Is dfat.gov.au Safe? Security Analysis for Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

http://dfat.gov.au

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

GovernmentAustraliaenterprise
Drupal 10GovCMSGoogle Tag ManagerReadSpeakerDrupal
Analyzed 6/15/2025Completed 11:21:08 PM9mo ago
39
Security Score
HIGH RISK

Below Government avg (70)

10,000+

Domains scanned

500+

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Domaindfat.gov.au
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Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

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AI Summary

The Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) operates as the primary government agency responsible for managing Australia's international relations, trade, and diplomatic efforts. The website serves as an authoritative source of information for Australian citizens, international partners, businesses, and travelers, providing comprehensive content on foreign affairs, trade agreements, development programs, consular services, and travel advice. The site is well-branded, professionally designed, and consistent with government standards, reflecting its enterprise-level stature within the government sector. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10 and hosted on GovCMS, a platform tailored for Australian government entities. It integrates modern tools such as Google Tag Manager and ReadSpeaker for analytics and accessibility. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices. However, performance metrics are unavailable, and some technical debt is evident in the lack of a valid SSL certificate and disabled TLS protocols, which critically impact security posture. From a security perspective, the absence of a valid SSL certificate and TLS support is a significant vulnerability, exposing users to potential data interception and undermining trust. While security headers like X-Content-Type-Options and X-Frame-Options are correctly implemented, the lack of HTTPS and session security mechanisms lowers the overall security score. Privacy compliance is partial, with a comprehensive privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism despite the use of tracking scripts. Contact information is clearly provided, enhancing business credibility. Overall, the website is a high-quality government portal with excellent content and user experience but suffers from critical security shortcomings that must be addressed urgently to protect users and maintain trust. Strategic improvements in SSL/TLS deployment, privacy compliance, and security best practices are recommended to elevate the site's security posture and compliance standards.

Detected Technologies

Drupal 10GovCMSGoogle Tag ManagerReadSpeakerDrupal

12 urgent findings need attention

3 critical · 9 high

  • + 4 more findings in the full report below
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Security drift alerts

Risk score drops, new high-severity issues, and header hardening gaps

Compliance watch

GDPR / NIS2 posture changes with governance evidence snapshots

Infrastructure surface

Unexpected open services, SSL expiry, DNS & email authentication changes

Content & tracker intelligence

Marketing tech shifts, analytics drift, and AI recommendation updates

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Security Headers

6 findings

50/100

GDPR Compliance

6 findings

0/100

NIS2 Compliance

7 findings

15/100

Email Security

1 finding

50/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

DFAT holds a dominant position as Australia's official foreign affairs and trade authority, operating under the Australian Government. Its business model is that of a government agency focused on diplomacy, trade facilitation, development aid, and consular services. The website supports these functions by providing detailed information, policy updates, and resources for multiple stakeholders including citizens, businesses, and international partners. The presence of partner domains such as Austrade and Tourism Australia indicates a collaborative ecosystem supporting Australia's international economic and diplomatic objectives. The agency leverages digital tools for outreach and analytics but currently lacks advanced privacy and security controls, which may impact stakeholder trust if not remediated. Growth indicators include active content updates and engagement with global trade frameworks. The site’s strategic value lies in its authoritative content and government backing, positioning it as a trusted source in its sector.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Company Registration

Legal Name:

Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Registration Number:

ABN: 47 065 634 525

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website's security posture is currently weak due to the absence of a valid SSL certificate and disabled TLS protocols, which are fundamental for secure communications. Although several security headers are implemented, the lack of HTTPS means data transmitted between users and the site is vulnerable to interception and man-in-the-middle attacks. No OCSP stapling or session resumption mechanisms are enabled, further reducing security and performance. The site does not expose sensitive data or show signs of vulnerable libraries, but the missing encryption is a critical flaw. Privacy compliance is incomplete, with no cookie consent mechanism despite tracking scripts in use. The presence of a vulnerability disclosure policy is a positive indicator of security awareness. Overall, the site requires urgent remediation of SSL/TLS issues and enhancement of privacy controls to meet modern security standards and regulatory requirements.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Immediately install and maintain a valid SSL/TLS certificate to enable HTTPS across the entire site.

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🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

50/100
Score

Weak X-Content-Type-Options configuration

LOW

Current value: "nosniff, nosniff"

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

0/100
Score

No Privacy Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

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

Insufficient contact information

MEDIUM

GDPR requires organizations to provide clear contact details

Third-party services without privacy policy

HIGH

Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube

No HTTPS encryption

CRITICAL

GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy0% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

15/100
Score

No HTTPS encryption

CRITICAL

NIS2 requires appropriate technical measures including encryption

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

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 NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

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📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

50/100
Score

Email Security Check Incomplete

MEDIUM

Some email security checks timed out

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

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

0/100
Score

No HTTPS Encryption

CRITICAL

Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊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

DNS Records

A Records:54.206.239.18, 54.252.75.26, 13.236.242.190
Name Servers:
emily.ns.cloudflare.comDNS only
trevor.ns.cloudflare.comDNS only
MX Records:
10: mx0.dfat.gov.au
10: mx1.dfat.gov.au

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

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

How does dfat.gov.au compare?

dfat.gov.au scores below average. Browse similar domains to see how competitors handle security.

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built on a modern CMS platform (Drupal 10) integrated with GovCMS, which is designed for Australian government websites. It uses Google Tag Manager for analytics and ReadSpeaker for accessibility, indicating a focus on user experience and data-driven insights. Hosting appears to be on Amazon AWS with Cloudflare DNS services, providing scalability and reliability. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO metadata and structured navigation. However, the lack of SSL/TLS support is a major technical deficiency that undermines the otherwise solid infrastructure. Performance data is missing, suggesting a need for monitoring and optimization. The site’s technical debt includes outdated or missing security configurations that should be prioritized for remediation to ensure operational security and compliance.
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Marketing Intelligence

Contact emails, phone numbers & warm leads

49.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Plan Comparison

FeaturePDF ReportMarketing+
Full security analysis
Professional PDF export
Email delivery
Lifetime access + unlock code
Contact emails & phones
Marketing outreach data

Already purchased?

Order summary

Domaindfat.gov.au
Access tierFull report or marketing add-on

Digital reports are delivered immediately after payment. By continuing you acknowledge the withdrawal waiver described in our Returns & Refunds policy.

VisaMastercardApple PayGoogle Pay

Secure payments processed via EveryPay. Prices in EUR; Incl. 21% VAT.

SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

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