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Security report for ccballoons.co.uk

Cards n Candy · Retail · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Network security, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

50/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Cards n Candy is a small, locally established retail business based in Wirral, UK, specializing in party supplies including balloons, cards, gifts, and party accessories. The company has been operating for over 16 years, run by a husband and wife team, and targets local customers seeking party decorations and gifts. The website reflects a well-structured retail storefront with clear product categories and customer engagement through testimonials and social media integration. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with popular plugins for page building, spam protection, and SEO, hosted by Krystal Hosting Ltd, a reputable UK provider. Performance and mobile optimization are adequate for a small business site. Security posture is moderate with HTTPS enabled and anti-spam measures, but lacks advanced security headers and explicit incident response policies. Privacy and cookie policies exist but are hosted externally and lack consent mechanisms, indicating partial GDPR compliance. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professional for its business scope but could improve security and privacy practices.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 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

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  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

  3. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • High

      No DMARC record found

      DMARC provides email authentication and reporting

      What to do: Add DMARC record: "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com"

  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
    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

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

Keep watching ccballoons.co.uk

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.

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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
47
Security headers
15
Email security
65
DNS health
70
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
83
Average
50

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 business operates in the retail sector focusing on party supplies and gifts, serving the Wirral area with a local delivery service. Its competitive advantage lies in its long-standing presence, personalized customer service, and a broad product range tailored to local needs. Revenue streams likely include in-store sales and local delivery orders. The target market includes families, event planners, and individuals organizing celebrations. The company leverages social proof through customer reviews and integrates Google Reviews for credibility. The website's partnership ecosystem includes third-party service providers for hosting, analytics, and review widgets. Strategic observations suggest opportunities for growth by enhancing online presence and improving compliance and security to build further trust.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a basic to moderate security maturity level. HTTPS is enforced, and anti-spam plugins are active, reducing common threats like spam and data interception. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options exposes the site to potential clickjacking, MIME sniffing, and cross-site scripting risks. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are publicly available, indicating limited preparedness for security incidents. Privacy compliance is partial, with policies present but lacking consent mechanisms and hosted on a third-party domain, which may confuse users and reduce trust. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a small retail site but requires enhancements to meet higher compliance and security standards.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, and Referrer-Policy to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Integrate a cookie consent banner/mechanism to comply with GDPR and enhance user privacy transparency.
  3. Host privacy and cookie policies on the main business domain to improve trust and user experience.
  4. Develop and publish an incident response plan and vulnerability disclosure policy to demonstrate security maturity and readiness.
  5. Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins to minimize vulnerabilities and maintain security hygiene.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Cards n Candy
Description
Buy party balloons for all occasions. Shop for great value balloons, foil, latex, novelty, character, number balloons and much more. Party Decorations also. Established in Wirral for over 16 years, husband and wife team providing friendly and helpful service. Offers cards, gifts, party accessories, banners, bunting, children's gifts.
Key services
Balloons, Cards, Gifts, Party Accessories, Banners & Bunting, Children’s Gifts, Party Decorations
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, PHP, jQuery, Slider Revolution, WPBakery Page Builder, CleanTalk Anti-Spam
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Anti-spam plugin (CleanTalk)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Marketing tools
Google Site Kit, JustReview widget, Elfsight Google Reviews widget
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a small local retail business specializing in party supplies and gifts.
  2. Content is well structured with clear navigation and multiple service categories.
  3. Contact information is prominently displayed including phone and email.
  4. Use of WordPress CMS with common plugins for SEO, spam protection, and page building.
  5. No advanced security policies or incident response information publicly available.
  6. Privacy and cookie policies exist but are hosted on a third-party domain (acceler8media.co.uk).
  7. Customer reviews and testimonials are integrated, enhancing trust.
  8. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS using popular plugins such as WPBakery Page Builder and Slider Revolution, indicating a standard modern web infrastructure for small businesses. The hosting provider is Krystal Hosting Ltd, a UK-based reputable host. The site uses jQuery and other JavaScript libraries for UI enhancements and interactive elements. Performance is moderate with some optimization opportunities. Mobile responsiveness is good, ensuring accessibility across devices. SEO is supported with meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD) for product and review information, enhancing search engine visibility. Accessibility features are basic but present. Technical risks include missing security headers and reliance on third-party domains for privacy policies, which could impact user trust and compliance.
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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