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Security report for drinkaware.ie

Drinkaware · Non-profit · Ireland

High risk. 4 critical or high findings in Network security, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Drinkaware is a national charity based in Ireland dedicated to preventing and reducing alcohol misuse. Established in 2004, it operates under an independent board and is regulated by the Charities Regulator, positioning itself as a trusted entity in the public health and non-profit sector. The website serves as an educational platform targeting the general public in Ireland, providing resources and awareness campaigns related to alcohol misuse. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern web technologies including Bootstrap, jQuery, and Cookiebot for consent management, hosted via Blacknight. It demonstrates good SEO practices, mobile optimization, and integrates analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics and Meta Platforms for audience insights and advertising. Security-wise, the site uses HTTPS and domain transfer protections but could improve by enabling DNSSEC and adding more security headers. Privacy compliance is well addressed through Cookiebot consent mechanisms, although explicit privacy policy and terms of service pages were not detected in the provided content. Overall, the site reflects a mature digital presence with a strong business credibility and moderate to good security posture.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
100/ 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. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

      Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MySQL using firewall or VPN

      • 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
    • 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. 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';…

  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 drinkaware.ie

This scan found 21 issues across 5 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

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
62
Security headers
65
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
100
Average
61
After the cap
49

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 · found on this site
  • 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

Drinkaware operates as a non-profit charity focused on alcohol misuse prevention in Ireland, serving a mature audience concerned with health and social issues related to alcohol. Its business model centers on education and awareness rather than commercial revenue. The organization benefits from regulatory oversight and an independent governance structure, enhancing trust. The website's integration with major ad networks and analytics platforms indicates a strategic approach to outreach and impact measurement. The absence of explicit contact details in the analyzed content suggests contact information may be located elsewhere or requires further inspection. The charity's market position is strong nationally, with consistent branding and professional content supporting its mission. Partnerships with major platforms like Google and Meta for advertising and analytics reflect a well-established digital ecosystem.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security foundation with HTTPS enforced and domain status set to clientTransferProhibited, reducing risk of unauthorized domain transfers. The use of Cookiebot for consent management aligns with GDPR requirements, enhancing privacy compliance. However, the lack of DNSSEC and absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options represent areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the provided content. The site uses third-party scripts extensively, which necessitates ongoing monitoring for supply chain risks. Incident response and security policy documentation were not found, indicating potential gaps in formal security governance. Overall, the security posture is good but could be strengthened with additional technical controls and documented policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  3. Publish clear privacy policy and terms of service pages accessible from the homepage.
  4. Provide explicit contact information including security incident response contacts to improve transparency and trust.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities and supply chain risks.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Drinkaware
Description
Drinkaware is a national charity working to prevent & reduce alcohol misuse in Ireland, governed by an independent board & regulated by the Charities Regulator.
Key services
Alcohol misuse prevention, Public education, Awareness campaigns
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.1, jQuery 3.7.1, Bootstrap CSS, Slick Carousel, Cookiebot Consent Management, Google Tag Manager
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Hotjar
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Meta Platforms, Inc., Google
Tracking pixels
Cookiebot
Marketing tools
AddToAny
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally maintained national charity site.
  2. Uses modern consent management with Cookiebot.
  3. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in provided HTML snippet.
  4. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages detected in the provided content.
  5. Extensive use of third-party analytics and marketing scripts with user consent.
  6. Good SEO and social media verification (Facebook domain verification meta tag present).
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern WordPress platform with a well-structured tech stack including Bootstrap for responsive design and Slick Carousel for UI components. Cookiebot is used for GDPR-compliant cookie consent management, and Google Tag Manager facilitates analytics and marketing integrations. Hosting is provided by Blacknight, a reputable Irish hosting provider. Performance is moderate with room for optimization, particularly in script loading and caching strategies. Accessibility features are basic but present, and SEO is enhanced by Yoast SEO plugin usage. The site is mobile-optimized and uses structured data (JSON-LD) for enhanced search engine understanding. Technical debt appears low, but enabling DNSSEC and additional security headers would modernize the security posture 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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