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Security report for aeo.org.uk

Association of Event Organisers · Other · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

66/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Association of Event Organisers (AEO) is a well-established UK trade association dedicated to supporting companies involved in the creation, development, and management of trade and consumer events. Positioned as a premier industry body, AEO operates a member-run model led by an elected council, offering services such as networking, advocacy, working groups, events, and industry research. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and strong branding consistency. Technically, the site employs modern JavaScript libraries, Google Analytics, and Tag Manager, and is built on the SHOWOFF CMS platform by ASP.events. Security posture is good with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms in place, though some security headers could be improved. The WHOIS data is unavailable due to a query error, but the website's professional presentation and contact information support its legitimacy. Overall, the site scores well on content quality, technical implementation, security, privacy compliance, and business credibility.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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 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';…

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  3. 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.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching aeo.org.uk

This scan found 25 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

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Recommended

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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
67
Security headers
30
Email security
85
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
66

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
  • 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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention aeo.org.uk, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for aeo.org.uk right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

Monitor on Breach (opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

AEO holds a strong market position as the leading UK trade association for event organisers, leveraging a membership-based business model that provides value through resources, advocacy, and community engagement. Its partnerships with sister associations and industry alliances enhance its influence and service offerings. The organization targets event professionals and companies, focusing on trade and consumer events. The website's content and testimonials indicate a medium-sized entity with a long history, though exact founding details are not specified. The partnership ecosystem includes recognized industry bodies and service providers, supporting a robust network. The business model emphasizes member benefits, industry standards, and sector growth, positioning AEO as a trusted and essential entity within the UK events industry.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security foundation with HTTPS enabled and a cookie consent banner indicating GDPR awareness. However, explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options are not visibly implemented, representing an area for enhancement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The use of third-party scripts like Google Analytics and LinkedIn Insight requires ongoing monitoring to mitigate supply chain risks. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is publicly available, which could be improved to enhance transparency and readiness. Overall, the security posture is good but could benefit from additional hardening and documented policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen browser security.
  2. Publish a clear vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting and improve trust.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and libraries to minimize supply chain vulnerabilities.
  4. Consider adding explicit incident response contact information and security policies to enhance transparency.
  5. Maintain and update privacy and cookie policies to ensure ongoing GDPR compliance and user trust.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Association of Event Organisers
Description
The Association of Event Organisers is the UK’s premier trade association for companies that create, develop, and manage trade and consumer events. AEO is member-run and member-focused, and is led by an elected council.
Key services
Membership services, Working groups, Events and conferences, Industry research, Advocacy and lobbying, Training and mentoring
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.5.1, jQuery Migrate 3.5.2, scriptjs, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics (gtag.js), FontAwesome, Slick Carousel, Magnific Popup, ASP.events SHOWOFF CMS
Frameworks
ASP.events SHOWOFF CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, LinkedIn Insight
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
LinkedIn Insight Tag
Marketing tools
LinkedIn Insight
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is rich, professional, and targeted at event industry professionals in the UK.
  3. Strong presence of privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Multiple social media channels linked (Instagram, LinkedIn).
  5. WHOIS data unavailable due to query error; domain WHOIS lookup was for 'www.aeo.org.uk' which is invalid.
  6. No security incident or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  7. No terms of service page explicitly found.
  8. Use of modern JavaScript libraries and analytics tools.
  9. Good mobile and accessibility support observed.
  10. No suspicious or malicious external domains detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the SHOWOFF CMS platform by ASP.events, utilizing modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery, Slick Carousel, and Magnific Popup for interactive features. Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are integrated for analytics and marketing purposes, alongside LinkedIn Insight for retargeting. The site is mobile responsive with good accessibility features like skip links and ARIA roles. Performance appears moderate with asynchronous script loading and CDN usage for assets. The technical implementation is robust, though some improvements in security headers and performance optimization could be made. No CMS or hosting provider details are explicitly identified beyond the CMS platform. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a professional and user-friendly experience.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 73/100Medium30 findingsView report
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