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Security report for batesoffice.co.uk

Bates Office · Retail · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

59/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Bates Office is a well-established UK-based B2B supplier specializing in office productivity supplies and services, including office products, furniture, document management, PPE, and workplace solutions. The company operates nationally with multiple distribution centers and a dedicated workforce, positioning itself as a leading provider in its sector with strong public and private sector partnerships. The website reflects a professional and comprehensive digital presence, leveraging modern technologies such as WordPress, Yoast SEO, and Google Tag Manager to deliver a user-friendly and optimized experience. Security measures include HTTPS, Google reCAPTCHA, and cookie consent mechanisms, although some security headers could be improved. The absence of WHOIS data due to domain registration issues introduces some uncertainty regarding domain legitimacy, but the overall business presentation and trust signals are strong. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security header implementation, publishing a formal security policy, and verifying domain registration details through alternative channels.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
88/ 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

4 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. 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

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 384-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching batesoffice.co.uk

This scan found 22 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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  • 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
37
Security headers
50
Email security
75
DNS health
65
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
88
Average
59

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

Bates Office targets UK businesses and public sector organizations requiring comprehensive office supplies and productivity services. Its business model focuses on tailored procurement solutions and consolidating supplier bases to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The company benefits from a longstanding heritage and a medium-sized operational footprint, with a clear emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility. The partnership ecosystem includes multiple approved public sector frameworks, enhancing market credibility. Growth indicators include a broad service portfolio and positive customer testimonials. The company’s digital ecosystem integrates marketing and analytics tools to support customer engagement and operational insights.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, form protection via Google reCAPTCHA, and a cookie consent banner supporting GDPR compliance. However, the lack of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options suggests room for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The absence of a published security policy or incident response contact limits transparency in security governance. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by adopting additional best practices and formalizing security communications.

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 security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  3. Regularly audit and update WordPress core and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance domain registration transparency by resolving WHOIS data issues or providing alternative verification.
  5. Continue to promote sustainability and social responsibility initiatives as key trust differentiators.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Bates Office
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Bates Office
Description
Bates Office is one of the UK’s largest B2B providers, supplying office products, furniture, document management, and workplace services nationwide. It is a family-run business with a longstanding heritage dating back to the 1930s, operating nationally with three distribution centres and 130 employees.
Key services
Education Services, Digital Services, Document Management, Tail End Management, Design & Print, Waste Management, Workwear & PPE, Office Furniture, Office Products
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Yoast SEO plugin, Google Tag Manager, Google reCAPTCHA, jQuery, Bootstrap, Slick Carousel
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Google reCAPTCHA implemented on forms
  • Cookie consent banner with revokable consent
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Microsoft Clarity, Google Analytics (via GTM implied)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Microsoft Clarity
Marketing tools
GatorLeads
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 rich content and no blocking detected
  2. Strong business presence with detailed service offerings and customer testimonials
  3. Good privacy and cookie compliance with visible policies and consent mechanisms
  4. Use of modern web technologies and SEO best practices
  5. No explicit security policy or incident response contact information found
  6. WHOIS data unavailable, limiting domain trust verification
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including Bootstrap for responsive design, Yoast SEO for search optimization, and Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing integration. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. The site uses Slick Carousel for interactive content and integrates Microsoft Clarity for user behavior analytics. No major technical debt or obsolete technologies were detected. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and possibly optimize loading speed 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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