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Is thebal.com a Scam? Security Check Results - NBA Media Ventures, LLC Reviews

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Is thebal.com Safe? Security Analysis for NBA Media Ventures, LLC

Check if thebal.com is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

MediaN/alarge
ReactNext.jsAdobe DTMGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics+3 more
Analyzed 9/6/2025Completed 3:11:56 AM
72
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) website, hosted as a subdomain of nba.com, serves as the official digital platform for the professional basketball league featuring 12 teams across Africa. Operated by NBA Media Ventures, LLC, the site provides comprehensive content including game schedules, team information, news, statistics, videos, and merchandise. The website is well-branded, consistent with NBA's global presence, and targets basketball fans and stakeholders interested in African basketball development. Technically, the site leverages modern web technologies such as React and Next.js, integrates advanced analytics and marketing tools, and demonstrates strong mobile optimization and accessibility. Security posture is robust with HTTPS enforcement, security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities. Privacy and cookie policies align with NBA's standards, indicating compliance with GDPR and other regulations. Overall, the site is trustworthy, professional, and serves as a key media channel for BAL.

Detected Technologies

ReactNext.jsAdobe DTMGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsFacebook PixelGenius Sports WidgetDoubleClick for Publishers (Google Ad Manager)

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

BAL operates under the NBA umbrella, positioning itself as a significant sports media entity focused on African basketball. The business model revolves around content dissemination, fan engagement, and merchandise sales. The site integrates with NBA's broader ecosystem, including WNBA, NBA G League, and NBA 2K League, reflecting a strong partnership network. The target audience includes basketball fans, sports media, and African sports communities. The presence of fan surveys and social impact programs indicates active community engagement and growth orientation. The lack of direct contact information suggests centralized communication through NBA channels.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no exposed sensitive data. Use of reputable third-party analytics and marketing scripts is evident, with no detected vulnerable libraries or insecure forms. Privacy compliance is strong, supported by detailed privacy and cookie policies. However, no explicit security or incident response policies are published on the site. The absence of vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files indicates an area for potential improvement in transparency and security culture.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response information to enhance transparency.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

NBA Media Ventures, LLC

Description:

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is a professional league featuring 12 teams from across Africa

Key Services:
Game schedules and resultsTeam informationNews and updatesStatistics and standingsVideo contentMerchandise store
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
ReactNext.jsAdobe DTMGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsFacebook PixelGenius Sports WidgetDoubleClick for Publishers (Google Ad Manager)
Frameworks:
ReactNext.js
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure external scripts loading
  • No inline scripts detected

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsAdobe Analytics
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Google Ad Manager (DoubleClick)
Tracking Pixels:
Facebook PixelAdobe DTM
Marketing Tools:
Adobe DTM
Transparency Level:good

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is the official site for the Basketball Africa League (BAL), affiliated with NBA.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

25/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=86400"

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

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

95/100
Score

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy85% 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:%{ir}.%{v}.%{d}.spf.has.pphosted.com ip4:192.28.146.104/32 ip4:192.28.146.102/32 ip4:167.89.0.0/17 ip4:208.117.48.0/20 ip4:50.31.32.0/19 ip4:198.37.144.0/20 ip4:198.21.0.0/21 ip4:192.254.112.0/20 ip4:168.245.0.0/17 ip4:149.72.0.0/16 include:mktomail.com include:mail.zendesk.com -all
DNS Lookups:3/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:selector2(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:dmarc_rua@emaildefense.proofpoint.com
Forensic Reports:dmarc_ruf@emaildefense.proofpoint.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

77/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 68 days

Short HSTS Max-Age

LOW

HSTS max-age is less than 1 year

HSTS Missing includeSubDomains

LOW

HSTS header does not include subdomains

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

7 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:*.nba.com
Issuer:GeoTrust RSA CA 2018
Valid Until:11/13/2025 (68 days)
SANs:*.nba.com, nba.com

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

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
30 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
medium(81 days)
Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:104.110.191.67, 104.110.191.42
Name Servers:
a1-148.akam.net
a12-65.akam.net
a16-64.akam.net
a18-65.akam.net
a5-65.akam.net
a7-67.akam.net
MX Records:
10: mxb-001bf601.gslb.pphosted.com
10: mxa-001bf601.gslb.pphosted.com
SOA:Serial: 2024092616, TTL: 300s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:43ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:%{ir}.%{v}.%{d}.spf.has.pphosted.com ip4:192.28.146.104/32 ip4:192.28.146.102/32 ip4:167.89.0.0/17 ip4:208.117.48.0/20 ip4:50.31.32.0/19 ip4:198.37.144.0/20 ip4:198.21.0.0/21 ip4:192.254.112.0/20 ip4:168.245.0.0/17 ip4:149.72.0.0/16 include:mktomail.com include:mail.zendesk.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 site is built on a modern React/Next.js framework, ensuring fast performance and excellent mobile responsiveness. Integration with Adobe DTM, Google Tag Manager, and Facebook Pixel indicates advanced marketing and analytics capabilities. Hosting appears to be managed by NBA or its partners, ensuring reliable infrastructure. The site uses secure external resources and implements SEO best practices. No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary content management solution. Overall, the technical implementation supports a high-quality user experience with minimal technical debt.
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