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Is vic.gov.au a Scam? Security Check Results - State Government of Victoria Reviews

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Is vic.gov.au Safe? Security Analysis for State Government of Victoria

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

GovernmentAustraliaenterprise
Nuxt.jsVue.jsGoogle Tag ManagerMicrosoft Clarity
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 8:07:44 AM
75
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The website www.vic.gov.au serves as the official digital portal for the State Government of Victoria, Australia. It provides comprehensive access to government services, grants, programs, and information across multiple sectors including education, health, transport, and community services. The site targets residents, businesses, and stakeholders within Victoria, positioning itself as a central hub for government-related information and citizen engagement. The business model is public service-oriented, focusing on information dissemination and service facilitation without commercial intent. Technically, the site leverages modern web technologies such as Nuxt.js and Vue.js, ensuring a responsive and accessible user experience. The presence of Google Tag Manager and Microsoft Clarity indicates moderate user tracking for analytics purposes. Hosting details are not explicitly stated, but DNS is managed via Constellix, and the site enforces HTTPS with strong domain registration protections. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and SEO practices. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates a solid posture with HTTPS enforcement and domain locking status codes that prevent unauthorized domain changes. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and there is a lack of publicly available security policies or incident response contacts. Privacy compliance is partial; while a comprehensive privacy policy exists, there is no visible cookie consent mechanism, which could be improved to align with GDPR and other privacy regulations. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professional, reflecting the stature of a government entity. Recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, implementing a cookie consent banner, and publishing explicit security and incident response policies to enhance transparency and compliance. These improvements would further strengthen the site's security posture and user trust.

Detected Technologies

Nuxt.jsVue.jsGoogle Tag ManagerMicrosoft Clarity

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The Victorian Government operates as a large enterprise entity providing essential public services across multiple sectors. Its market position is that of an authoritative government body with a broad service portfolio including education, health, transport, and community support. The website reflects a mature digital presence with extensive content and structured navigation, supporting diverse user needs. Partnerships with related government agencies and service providers are evident through linked domains. The business model is non-commercial, focusing on governance, regulation, and public service delivery. Growth indicators include ongoing updates and campaigns such as the Rapid Child Safety Review and housing reforms. The ecosystem includes multiple departments and agencies, reinforcing a comprehensive government network.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The security posture of the website is robust in terms of domain registration and HTTPS usage. The domain is registered with the Department of Finance - VIC and is protected by multiple server status prohibitions, reducing risks of hijacking or unauthorized changes. SSL/TLS is properly configured, ensuring encrypted communications. However, the absence of DNSSEC is a minor gap that could expose DNS spoofing risks. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. The site lacks explicit published security policies or incident response contacts, which are best practices for transparency and user assurance. Tracking scripts are present but do not appear to compromise security. Overall, the site maintains a good security baseline suitable for a government portal.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing attacks.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

State Government of Victoria

Description:

Victorian Government website providing access to grants, services, government decisions, and information for citizens.

Key Services:
Grants and programsJobs and careersArts, culture and heritageBusiness and workplace informationCommunity servicesEducation and trainingEnvironment, water and energyFinance and economyHealth and social supportHousing and property
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Nuxt.jsVue.jsGoogle Tag ManagerMicrosoft Clarity
Frameworks:
Nuxt.jsVue.js
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain locked with multiple server status prohibitions
  • No DNSSEC enabled (potential improvement area)

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft Clarity
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Microsoft ClarityGoogle Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Marketing Tools:
Microsoft Clarity
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

Official Victorian Government website with comprehensive public service information.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

80/100
Score

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Weak Referrer-Policy configuration

LOW

Current value: "origin, strict-origin, strict-origin-when-cross-origin"

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

58/100
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

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

67/100
Score

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

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

60/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

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-001fc401.pphosted.com include:smtp.dpc.vic.gov.au ~all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:~all
DMARC Details
Policy:none
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

72/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 78 days

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.1TLSv1.3TLSv1.2

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

80/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:103.107.226.226
Name Servers:
a.au
q.au
r.au
s.au
t.au
MX Records:
10: mxb-001fc401.gslb.pphosted.com
10: mxa-001fc401.gslb.pphosted.com

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:spf-001fc401.pphosted.com include:smtp.dpc.vic.gov.au ~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 using Nuxt.js and Vue.js frameworks, indicating a modern JavaScript single-page application architecture optimized for SEO and performance. The use of Google Tag Manager and Microsoft Clarity provides analytics and user behavior insights. The site loads multiple CSS and JS assets asynchronously, supporting performance optimization. Hosting appears stable with Constellix DNS servers, though no explicit hosting provider is identified. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features such as skip links and ARIA labels. SEO is supported by comprehensive meta tags including Open Graph and Twitter cards. Potential technical improvements include enabling DNSSEC and enhancing privacy compliance mechanisms.
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