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Security report for arcadiasw.co.uk

Arcadia (South West) Limited · Finance · United Kingdom

High risk. 7 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Network security and 2 other checks.

Security score

45/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Arcadia (South West) Limited operates as a professional accounting and tax advisory firm serving owner-managed businesses, sole traders, and private individuals primarily in Somerset and Weston super Mare, UK. The company offers a comprehensive range of services including accounts preparation, bookkeeping, payroll, tax planning, and VAT returns, positioning itself as a trusted local financial services provider. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image with clear contact information and service descriptions, supporting its market position as a small but client-focused firm. Technically, the website is built on Joomla CMS and leverages common web technologies such as jQuery, Bootstrap, and Smart Slider 3 for UI components. The site is mobile-optimized and provides a good user experience with clear navigation and relevant content. However, there is room for improvement in security practices, particularly the implementation of HTTP security headers and verification of SSL/TLS configurations. From a security perspective, the site employs a cookie consent mechanism and maintains a privacy policy, indicating awareness of GDPR compliance. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The absence of WHOIS data due to an invalid query limits the ability to fully verify domain registration legitimacy, but the website's professional presentation and contact details support its credibility. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with a solid business foundation and adequate privacy compliance. Strategic improvements in security headers, SSL configuration, and incident response documentation would enhance the security posture and trustworthiness further.

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

7 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.

    • 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
  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.

    • 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
  3. 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

  4. 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

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

Keep watching arcadiasw.co.uk

This scan found 28 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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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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
20
Email security
55
DNS health
65
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
53
Average
45

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 arcadiasw.co.uk, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for arcadiasw.co.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

Arcadia (South West) Limited is positioned as a specialized accounting and tax advisory firm targeting small business owners, sole traders, and individuals in the Somerset region. Its competitive advantage lies in personalized service and flexibility, catering to clients outside typical business hours. The business model focuses on professional services revenue streams including tax planning, bookkeeping, payroll, and compliance. The company maintains a modest but professional digital presence with social media engagement on LinkedIn and Facebook. There is no indication of partnerships or subsidiaries from the website content. Growth indicators include a comprehensive service offering and clear local contact points, though no explicit financial or operational data is provided.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with implementation of cookie consent and a privacy policy aligned with GDPR. However, the lack of visible HTTP security headers such as Content Security Policy, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options suggests potential gaps in defense-in-depth. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are published, which could hinder rapid response to security events. The absence of exposed sensitive data and secure form inputs is positive, but the unknown SSL/TLS configuration requires verification. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a small professional services firm but would benefit from enhanced security controls and documented policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive HTTP security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Verify and maintain strong SSL/TLS configuration to ensure encrypted communications and trust.
  3. Publish incident response and vulnerability disclosure policies to improve transparency and preparedness.
  4. Regularly update Joomla CMS and all third-party libraries to address known vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance accessibility features and conduct periodic security audits to maintain compliance and security hygiene.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Arcadia (South West) Limited
Registration number
4620454
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Arcadia (South West) Limited
Description
Arcadia Chartered Tax Advisers & Accountants offers professional accounting and taxation services to owner managed businesses, sole traders and private individuals across Somerset, Weston super Mare and the surrounding areas.
Key services
Accounts Preparation, Bookkeeping, Business Support, CIS Returns, Cloud Accounting Solutions, Company Secretarial, Payroll, Tax Planning, Tax Return Preparation, VAT Returns
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, Bootstrap, Font Awesome, Smart Slider 3, Joomla, Google Fonts (Open Sans)
Frameworks
Joomla CMS
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • Cookie consent banner implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. WHOIS data is unavailable due to query on www subdomain instead of base domain.
  3. Website uses Joomla CMS with common web technologies.
  4. Cookie consent and privacy policy are implemented.
  5. Contact information is clearly presented with multiple phone numbers, emails, and physical addresses.
  6. No security headers detected in provided data; SSL status unknown.
  7. No analytics or tracking scripts detected beyond basic libraries.
  8. No forms detected in the provided HTML content.
  9. Social media presence on LinkedIn and Facebook is linked.
  10. Content is professional and relevant to accounting and tax advisory services.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Joomla CMS with a technology stack including jQuery, Bootstrap, Font Awesome, and Smart Slider 3 for interactive elements. It uses Google Fonts for typography and includes custom CSS for styling. The site is mobile responsive and optimized for various screen sizes. Performance is moderate with no major blocking scripts detected. There is no evidence of advanced analytics or tracking tools, which limits data-driven marketing insights. The technical infrastructure appears stable but could be modernized with updated frameworks and enhanced security configurations to reduce technical debt and improve resilience.
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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