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Security report for adamsmithinternational.com

Adam Smith International · Government · United Kingdom

High risk. 8 critical or high findings in Network security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Adam Smith International is a well-established global advisory company founded in 2004, specializing in economic development, governance, and stability projects primarily for governments, foundations, and companies. The company is employee-owned and holds a B Corp certification, emphasizing its commitment to social and environmental accountability. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and consistent branding, targeting stakeholders interested in development and governance solutions. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern technologies such as jQuery and Google reCAPTCHA for security. SEO is well implemented via Yoast SEO, and the site is mobile-optimized with good accessibility features. Performance is moderate, with room for improvement in hosting transparency and additional security headers. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer protections in place. However, the absence of explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicates areas for enhancement. Privacy compliance is good, with a clear privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism, though terms of service are missing. Overall, the site presents a low risk profile with strong business credibility and trust indicators. Strategic improvements in security transparency and technical hardening would further strengthen the organization's digital trustworthiness.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

8 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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
    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: PostgreSQL

      Port 5432 (PostgreSQL) is publicly accessible - PostgreSQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to PostgreSQL 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

  2. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • 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
77
Security headers
15
Email security
60
DNS health
80
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
68
Average
50
After the cap
49

Not counted

  • 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

Adam Smith International operates in the government and non-profit sectors, providing strategic advisory services focused on economic and governance development. Its business model revolves around partnerships with governments, foundations, and companies to deliver tailored solutions in complex environments. The company leverages its employee-owned structure and B Corp certification as competitive advantages, signaling commitment to ethical and sustainable practices. The website content and social media presence indicate active engagement with stakeholders and a focus on impact-driven projects. The firm appears to have a medium-sized operational scale with a global footprint, supported by a mature digital platform that facilitates communication and resource sharing.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security foundation with HTTPS encryption and the use of Google reCAPTCHA to protect forms from automated abuse. The domain is secured with clientTransferProhibited status, reducing risk of unauthorized domain transfers. However, the lack of DNSSEC implementation and absence of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options represent potential areas of vulnerability. No explicit security policy or incident response information is published, which could hinder transparency and responsiveness in case of security incidents. No known vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. Overall, the security posture is good but could benefit from enhanced security controls and published policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement and publish a formal security policy and incident response contact details on the website.
  3. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to harden the website against common attacks.
  4. Introduce a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and plugins to mitigate risks from vulnerable components.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Adam Smith International
Description
A strategic development company that helps people prosper by making economies stronger, societies safer and more stable, and governments more effective.
Key services
Economic development advisory, Governance strengthening, Partnership facilitation, Project implementation in complex environments
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Google reCAPTCHA, Yoast SEO
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA for forms
  • Client transfer prohibited domain status

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google Analytics (via gtag.js)
Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well maintained.
  2. Content is rich, relevant, and updated with recent news and projects.
  3. Strong social media presence across multiple platforms.
  4. Use of HTTPS and reCAPTCHA enhances security.
  5. No visible security policy or incident response information.
  6. No terms of service page found.
  7. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented.
  8. B Corp certification prominently displayed as a trust indicator.
  9. No suspicious or malicious external links detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using modern web technologies including jQuery and Google reCAPTCHA for enhanced user interaction and security. SEO is managed via the Yoast SEO plugin, ensuring proper metadata and structured data usage. The site loads resources from trusted external domains such as Google Fonts and Google Tag Manager, indicating integration with standard web services. Performance is moderate, with potential improvements in hosting transparency and resource optimization. The site is mobile responsive and accessible, with good navigation and user experience. Technical debt appears low, but security enhancements and DNS improvements are recommended to maintain robustness.
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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