Skip to main content

Security report for belfastcookeryschool.com

Belfast Cookery School · Hospitality · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Belfast Cookery School is a small hospitality business specializing in hands-on cooking classes and event hosting in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Their offerings include group, private, corporate, hen, and stag party classes, positioning them as a local experiential service provider in the culinary education sector. The website is professionally designed using the Squarespace platform, featuring good content quality, clear navigation, and mobile optimization. The business maintains an active social media presence on Facebook and Instagram, enhancing customer engagement and trust. Technically, the website leverages modern web technologies and benefits from Squarespace's hosting and CDN infrastructure. Security measures include HTTPS with HSTS enabled and the use of Google reCAPTCHA to protect forms. A cookie consent banner is implemented, supporting GDPR compliance, although explicit privacy and terms of service pages are absent. The lack of WHOIS data for the domain raises concerns about domain registration legitimacy, but the website content and SSL presence suggest a genuine business operation. Security posture is strong with no detected vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, the absence of formal security policies and incident response information indicates room for improvement in governance and compliance. Overall, the website presents a trustworthy and professional front for the business, but verification of domain registration and addition of privacy and legal policies would enhance credibility and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
85/ 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

3 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 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

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

Keep watching belfastcookeryschool.com

This scan found 23 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.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
54
Security headers
50
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
85
Average
73

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

The Belfast Cookery School operates in the hospitality sector, focusing on culinary education and event experiences. Their business model centers on paid cooking classes and bespoke events, targeting individuals, groups, and corporate clients in the Belfast area. The company leverages digital channels for marketing and customer interaction, including social media and an e-commerce enabled website for gift vouchers. The market positioning is local and niche, emphasizing experiential learning and social cooking events. Growth indicators include positive customer reviews and active social engagement. The company does not appear to have subsidiaries or parent companies, operating as an independent small business.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture for a small business, with HTTPS enforced and HSTS enabled, ensuring encrypted communications. The use of Google reCAPTCHA on forms mitigates automated abuse risks. Cookie consent mechanisms align with GDPR requirements, though the absence of a detailed privacy policy and incident response plan indicates gaps in compliance and governance. No security vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. The lack of WHOIS data for the domain is a concern for domain legitimacy and could pose risks if the domain is not properly registered or maintained. Overall, the security posture is good but could be improved by publishing formal security and privacy documentation and verifying domain registration status.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy page detailing data collection, usage, and user rights to enhance GDPR compliance.
  2. Add a terms of service page to clarify user agreements and legal protections.
  3. Verify and update domain registration information to ensure WHOIS data is accurate and publicly available.
  4. Develop and publish security policies and an incident response plan to improve governance and customer trust.
  5. Enhance website accessibility features to improve inclusivity and compliance with accessibility standards.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Belfast Cookery School
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Belfast Cookery School
Description
Experience hands-on cooking classes in the heart of Belfast! From group sessions to private, corporate, hen, and stag parties, our cookery school offers fun and engaging experiences for all. Perfect for any occasion!
Key services
Group cooking classes, Private cooking classes, Party classes (hen, stag, corporate), Gift vouchers, Bespoke events
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Squarespace, JavaScript, CSS, Google reCAPTCHA
Frameworks
Squarespace platform
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner with opt-in/out
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA for forms

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google reCAPTCHA
Marketing tools
Squarespace marketing automations
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is built on Squarespace platform with modern design
  2. Content is focused on cooking classes and events in Belfast
  3. No WHOIS data available, domain may be unregistered or WHOIS privacy enforced
  4. Cookie consent banner present with opt-in/out options
  5. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages found
  6. Contact information includes email and physical address in Belfast
  7. Social media presence on Facebook and Instagram
  8. No signs of adult or explicit content
  9. No detected security vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Squarespace platform, utilizing modern web technologies including JavaScript, CSS, and Google reCAPTCHA for form security. Hosting is provided by Squarespace's CDN, ensuring reliable performance and global content delivery. The site is mobile optimized with responsive design and includes SEO best practices such as meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). Performance is moderate, typical for a CMS-based site with rich media content. Accessibility is basic, with opportunities for improvement. No deprecated or vulnerable libraries were detected. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a professional and user-friendly experience but could benefit from enhanced accessibility and performance tuning.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with belfastcookeryschool.com. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review belfastcookeryschool.com.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.