Skip to main content

Security report for fmdownes.com

FM Downes LTD · Finance · Ireland

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

62/100

Risk levelMedium

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

FM Downes LTD is a small Irish financial planning firm specializing in pensions, retirement planning, insurance products, and investment advice. The company positions itself as a trusted advisor helping individuals and families secure their financial futures. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image with clear service offerings and customer testimonials, indicating a solid market presence within the Irish financial advisory sector. Technically, the site is built on WordPress using the Divi theme and integrates the Amelia booking plugin for appointment scheduling, demonstrating a moderate level of digital maturity. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms in place, though additional security headers could enhance protection. No critical vulnerabilities or blocking mechanisms were detected, and privacy compliance is well addressed with comprehensive policies and consent banners. Overall, the site presents a trustworthy and professional front for the business.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
70/ 100 · Medium
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. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

  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.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

  3. 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"

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

Keep watching fmdownes.com

This scan found 17 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
0
Security headers
40
Email security
85
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
70
Average
62

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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention fmdownes.com, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for fmdownes.com right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

Monitor on Breach (opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

FM Downes operates in the finance sector, targeting individuals and families seeking financial planning and protection services. Their business model revolves around advisory services combined with insurance brokerage and investment planning. The company leverages regulatory compliance as a trust signal and maintains a customer-centric approach evidenced by testimonials and clear contact channels. The integration of an online booking system suggests a focus on customer convenience and operational efficiency. The absence of extensive marketing or analytics tools indicates a possibly conservative digital marketing strategy. The company appears well-positioned in the Irish market with a focus on personalized financial solutions.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good security posture with HTTPS enabled and no visible exposure of sensitive data. Cookie consent is implemented, supporting GDPR compliance. However, the site lacks several recommended security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security, which could further harden the site against common web attacks. The use of third-party plugins like Amelia requires ongoing vigilance to ensure no vulnerabilities are introduced. No signs of malware, phishing, or other critical security issues were found. Incident response and security policy documentation are not publicly available, which is common for small businesses but could be improved to enhance trust.

Recommendations

  1. Implement additional HTTP security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  2. Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities, especially the booking plugin.
  3. Publish a basic security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to improve compliance and user experience for all visitors.
  5. Consider integrating analytics and marketing tools with privacy-respecting configurations to better understand user engagement and improve business insights.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
FM Downes LTD
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
FM Downes LTD
Description
FM Downes Financial Planning helps people plan for a range of life events including pensions, retirement, insurance policies for illness, death, or inability to work, savings, and investments.
Key services
Income Protection, Life Assurance, Specified Illness Protection, Home Insurance, Business Insurance, Mortgage Protection, Pensions, Savings & Investments, Employee & Group Benefits
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Divi Theme, Amelia Booking Plugin, jQuery, FontAwesome, Google Fonts
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website uses HTTPS with valid SSL
  2. Cookie consent banner present and functional
  3. Clear and comprehensive privacy and cookie policies
  4. Contact information including phone, email, and physical address clearly displayed
  5. Booking system integrated via Amelia plugin
  6. No signs of WAF or content blocking
  7. No exposed sensitive data or obvious vulnerabilities in HTML content
  8. Professional design and consistent branding
  9. Social media icons present but URLs are placeholders (#), no actual social media links found
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress with the Divi theme, a popular and flexible CMS and theme combination. It uses jQuery and FontAwesome for UI elements and Google Fonts for typography. The Amelia booking plugin is integrated for appointment scheduling, indicating a moderate level of technical sophistication. The site loads multiple CSS and JS assets, some asynchronously, suggesting attention to performance. Mobile optimization is good, with responsive design evident. Accessibility is basic but could be improved. SEO is supported by meta tags and structured navigation. Hosting provider details are not explicit. Overall, the technical infrastructure is solid for a small business website but could benefit from further optimization and security enhancements.
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 fmdownes.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 fmdownes.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.