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Security report for 4design.co

4DESIGN · Manufacturing · New Zealand

Partial score · DNS & email only

34/100

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

4DESIGN is a New Zealand-based industrial design and product development consultancy specializing in creating innovative and award-winning products for a diverse clientele including companies, startups, and individuals. The company offers a broad range of services such as industrial design, engineering, prototyping, UI/UX design, manufacturing, and 3D printing. Their market position is strong within the manufacturing and technology sectors, supported by multiple awards and recognized certifications. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image with excellent content quality and clear navigation, targeting clients seeking high-quality design consultancy services. Technically, the website is built on WordPress and leverages common technologies including Apache server, jQuery, Google Analytics, and various plugins for SEO and social media integration. Hosting is provided by InMotion Hosting. However, the website lacks HTTPS, which is a critical security shortfall. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and basic accessibility features. SEO is well implemented with comprehensive metadata and structured data. From a security perspective, the absence of a valid SSL certificate and HTTPS support significantly lowers the security posture. No advanced security headers or incident response policies are evident. Privacy compliance is partial with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism or terms of service found. Contact information is clearly provided, enhancing business credibility. Overall, the website is professional and credible but requires urgent security improvements, particularly enabling HTTPS and enhancing privacy compliance to meet modern standards. Strategic recommendations include installing SSL, enabling security headers, and implementing cookie consent mechanisms to improve trust and compliance.

Scanned

3 of 7 checks could not complete. The site may be unreachable or blocking automated scans, so the results below cover only what could be checked. Try a rescan later.

NIS2 and GDPR posture

NIS2 outside view
Not assessed
GDPR outside view
Not assessed

Both readouts depend on the site's pages, which could not be loaded in this scan.

Priority findings

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS Encryption

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

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

  2. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

      Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MySQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection
    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
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  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
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  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
0
Email security
50
DNS health
85
Network security
0
Average
34

Not counted

  • Security headers: did not complete in this scan.
  • GDPR outside view: did not complete in this scan.
  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet · found on this site
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

4DESIGN operates as a specialized consultancy in industrial design and product development, serving a niche market of visionary companies and startups primarily in New Zealand. Their competitive advantage lies in their award-winning design expertise and comprehensive service offerings that cover the entire product lifecycle from concept to manufacturing. Revenue streams likely derive from consultancy fees, project-based contracts, and possibly licensing or partnerships. The company maintains an active partnership ecosystem, including a regional partner site in Australia and a web development agency. Growth indicators include recent projects and active social media engagement. The business model focuses on high-value design services with a strong emphasis on innovation and client collaboration.

Security posture

The current security maturity level of the website is low due to the lack of HTTPS and SSL certificate, which exposes users to risks such as data interception and man-in-the-middle attacks. No advanced security headers or mechanisms like HSTS, OCSP stapling, or session resumption are implemented. The absence of a cookie consent mechanism and incomplete privacy compliance indicate gaps in GDPR and other data protection regulations. No incident response or security policy information is available, suggesting limited preparedness for security incidents. While no known vulnerabilities or malware are detected, the critical missing HTTPS significantly impacts the overall security posture and trustworthiness.

Recommendations

  1. Install and configure a valid SSL/TLS certificate to enable HTTPS across the entire website.
  2. Implement HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with includeSubDomains and preload options to enforce secure connections.
  3. Add essential security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  4. Introduce a cookie policy and consent mechanism to comply with GDPR and enhance user privacy transparency.
  5. Develop and publish a security policy and incident response plan accessible on the website to demonstrate security governance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Technical notes

Notes

The website is hosted on an Apache server with WordPress CMS, utilizing a modern tech stack including jQuery, Font Awesome, Google Fonts, and several plugins for SEO, social media feeds, and caching. The hosting provider is InMotion Hosting, known for reliable services. Performance metrics are not explicitly provided but inferred as moderate due to caching and resource usage. The site is mobile optimized with responsive design and basic accessibility features. SEO is well addressed with Yoast SEO plugin and structured JSON-LD data. However, the lack of HTTPS and modern TLS protocols is a significant technical risk. The site uses Google Analytics for tracking and AddToAny for social sharing, indicating moderate user tracking. Overall, the technical infrastructure is solid but requires security modernization and performance monitoring.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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