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Security report for aoc.co.uk

Association of Colleges · Education · United Kingdom

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

Security score

75/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Association of Colleges (AoC) is a prominent UK-based membership organization representing a wide range of colleges across the country. The website serves as a comprehensive portal offering information about the organization's services, policy advocacy, training, recruitment consultancy, and research activities. It targets educational institutions, policymakers, and professionals within the further education sector. The site is well-structured with clear navigation and a professional design, reflecting its position as a leading voice in the education sector. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Craft CMS, Bootstrap, Google Tag Manager, and Cookiebot for cookie consent management. The presence of CSRF tokens and HTTPS indicates a focus on security best practices. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO and performance characteristics. Analytics and tracking are implemented responsibly with user consent mechanisms. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS and includes some security headers and CSRF protections. However, explicit HTTP security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not evident in the provided data. There is no visible security policy or incident response contact information, and no vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file is found. The WHOIS data query failed due to querying the subdomain rather than the domain, so no registrar or registration details are available. Despite this, the website's professional appearance and consistent branding suggest legitimacy. Overall, the site presents a low risk profile with good business credibility and technical implementation. Recommendations include enhancing HTTP security headers, publishing security and incident response policies, and adding vulnerability disclosure information to improve transparency and trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 100 · Low
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 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 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

  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
    • High

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 27 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates

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

Keep watching aoc.co.uk

This scan found 19 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.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • 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
57
Security headers
55
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
75

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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

AoC operates as a key representative body for colleges in the UK, providing a broad range of services including membership support, policy advocacy, recruitment consultancy, and training. Its business model is centered on serving educational institutions and stakeholders in the further education sector. The organization leverages partnerships such as the AoC Jobs platform to extend its service offerings. The website content and structure indicate a mature organization with a clear market position as a leading voice in education. The target customers are colleges, education professionals, and policymakers. The presence of multiple strategy groups and policy areas suggests active engagement in shaping education policy and practice. The organization's digital presence supports its role as a thought leader and service provider in the education sector.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security posture with mandatory HTTPS usage and CSRF token implementation. Cookie consent is managed via Cookiebot, indicating compliance with privacy regulations. However, the absence of explicit HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options represents an area for improvement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the provided content. The lack of a published security policy, incident response contact, or vulnerability disclosure mechanism limits transparency and preparedness for security incidents. Overall, the security maturity is adequate for the organization's profile but could be enhanced by adopting additional best practices and publishing relevant policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive HTTP security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.
  2. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information on the website to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and libraries to ensure they are up to date and free from known vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance privacy compliance by providing detailed privacy and cookie policies with clear GDPR adherence statements.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Association of Colleges
Description
AoC is the leading voice for all types of colleges in every part of the country.
Key services
Membership support, Policy advocacy, Corporate services, Recruitment and consultancy, Events and training, Research and surveys
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Cookiebot, FontAwesome, Bootstrap (implied by navbar classes), Taggbox widget
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • CSRF tokens present in meta tags
  • Use of secure cookie consent mechanism

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Cookiebot
Marketing tools
Cookiebot
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and navigation.
  2. No WHOIS data available due to query on subdomain 'www.aoc.co.uk' instead of 'aoc.co.uk'.
  3. Strong presence of privacy and cookie consent mechanisms.
  4. No explicit contact emails or phone numbers found in provided HTML snippet; contact likely via forms.
  5. No visible security.txt or vulnerability disclosure page.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  7. No signs of adult or questionable content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Craft CMS with Bootstrap for responsive design, integrating Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics for tracking and Cookiebot for cookie consent management. The use of CSRF tokens indicates attention to form security. The site loads fonts from Google Fonts and includes social media widgets. Performance appears moderate with asynchronous loading of scripts. Accessibility features such as skip links and ARIA labels are present, supporting inclusive design. SEO is supported by meta tags, Open Graph, and Twitter card metadata. The technical stack is modern and well-implemented, though opportunities exist to enhance security headers and optimize performance further.
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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