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Security report for blackpugstudio.com

Black Pug Studio Limited · Technology · Ireland

Medium risk. 7 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

Black Pug Studio Limited is a creative agency based in Galway, Ireland, specializing in web design, branding, digital design, and software & web development. Established in 2015, the company serves a diverse clientele including gaming, entertainment, and enterprise sectors, positioning itself as a multidisciplinary creative partner with a strong portfolio and client testimonials. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image with clear navigation and rich content showcasing their projects and services. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including ReactJS, NextJS, VueJS, NodeJS, and cloud hosting on Google Cloud Platform, ensuring fast performance and mobile optimization. Security best practices are observed with HTTPS, security headers, and secure forms, although privacy and cookie policies are absent, representing a compliance gap. The security posture is strong with no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, the lack of explicit privacy and cookie policies and absence of a vulnerability disclosure mechanism are areas for improvement. Contact information is clearly presented, enhancing business credibility. Overall, the website is trustworthy, professionally maintained, and technically sound, with recommendations to enhance privacy compliance and formalize security policies to further strengthen user trust and regulatory adherence.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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. 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 Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

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

Keep watching blackpugstudio.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

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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
77
Security headers
35
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

Black Pug Studio operates as a medium-sized creative agency with a focus on bespoke digital solutions including web design, branding, and software development. Their business model centers on delivering tailored projects from ideation to deployment, targeting enterprises, startups, and organizations in technology, gaming, and entertainment. The company demonstrates growth through long-term client partnerships and a diverse project portfolio. Their market position is strengthened by a multidisciplinary approach and active engagement on social media and professional platforms. Revenue streams likely include project-based contracts and ongoing service agreements. Strategic partnerships and a presence in multiple European locations support their operational reach and innovation capacity.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and secure handling of user inputs in forms. No exposed credentials or sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The use of modern frameworks and cloud infrastructure suggests adherence to current security standards. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicates room for improvement in transparency and readiness. GDPR compliance is partially addressed through contact information but lacks formal privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the security culture appears proactive but could benefit from formal documentation and user-facing disclosures.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie policy with explicit consent mechanisms to ensure GDPR compliance.
  2. Develop and display a security policy including incident response procedures and dedicated security contact channels.
  3. Implement a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to improve inclusivity and compliance with accessibility standards.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate risks from vulnerable libraries.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Black Pug Studio Limited
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Black Pug Studio Limited
Description
Creative agency specialized in web design, branding, digital design, and software & web development, located in Galway, Ireland
Key services
Web Design, Branding, Digital Design, Software Development, Web Development, Enterprise Solutions, Strategy Consultancy, Localization
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
ReactJS, NextJS, VueJS, NodeJS, Express, Firebase Hosting, Google Cloud Platform, Shopify, React Native, Unreal Engine
Frameworks
NextJS, VueJS, ReactJS, Express
Platforms
Google Cloud Platform, Firebase Hosting, Shopify
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of CSP
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with required fields

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Marketing tools
Mailgun
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed with clear branding and consistent messaging.
  2. Strong focus on creative digital services and software development.
  3. Multiple client projects and case studies demonstrate expertise and market presence.
  4. Active social media presence and external portfolio links enhance trust.
  5. No privacy or cookie policies found, which is a compliance gap.
  6. Secure HTTPS with modern security headers implemented.
  7. Use of modern JavaScript frameworks and cloud hosting indicates technical maturity.
  8. Contact information is clearly provided with multiple channels.
  9. No signs of malicious or suspicious content or domains.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack leveraging ReactJS, NextJS, VueJS, NodeJS, and Express, hosted on Google Cloud Platform with Firebase Hosting for certain components. The use of Shopify for e-commerce and React Native for mobile app development indicates a versatile and scalable infrastructure. Performance is optimized with preloading of assets and asynchronous loading of analytics scripts. SEO is supported by proper meta tags, Open Graph data, and JSON-LD structured data. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible with smooth scrolling and responsive design. Technical risks are minimal but continuous monitoring of dependencies and security headers is recommended to maintain robustness.
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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