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Security report for forsythbarr.co.nz

Forsyth Barr Limited · Finance · New Zealand

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

Forsyth Barr Limited is a well-established New Zealand owned investment firm with over 85 years of history, providing a comprehensive range of investment services including sharebroking, portfolio management, research, and investment banking. The company operates through 25 offices nationwide and targets New Zealand investors seeking professional and personalized investment advice. Their business model focuses on managed portfolios, transactional services, and digital investment platforms, supported by award-winning research and a strong market presence. The website reflects a mature, professional financial services provider with consistent branding and trust indicators such as affiliations with NZX and multiple partner entities. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including React, Bootstrap, and various analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and Intercom. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices and a likely CMS backend (Umbraco). Performance is moderate, with room for improvement in loading speed and explicit security header implementation. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and secure login portals, though explicit security headers and incident response information are not publicly visible. Privacy compliance is partial, with a comprehensive privacy policy present but lacking a visible cookie consent mechanism. The absence of WHOIS data for the domain limits full trust verification, but the overall digital footprint and business information strongly support legitimacy. Overall, Forsyth Barr's website is a professional, secure, and trustworthy platform for investment services in New Zealand, with recommendations to enhance privacy compliance and security transparency to further strengthen user trust and regulatory adherence.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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.

    • 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

  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

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

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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
85
Email security
75
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
78

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

Forsyth Barr holds a strong market position as a leading New Zealand investment services firm with a diversified portfolio of offerings including managed portfolios, transactional services, and digital investment tools. Their competitive advantage lies in their extensive nationwide presence, experienced professional advisers, and award-winning research capabilities. Revenue streams likely include fees from portfolio management, brokerage, and investment banking services. The target customer segments are individual and institutional investors within New Zealand. Growth indicators include digital platform enhancements and active engagement through research and news updates. The partnership ecosystem includes KiwiSaver schemes, asset management firms, and event sponsorships, reflecting a broad and integrated market approach. Strategic observations highlight a focus on client trust, professional advice, and leveraging technology to enhance service delivery.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS and secure client login portals. Use of modern analytics and marketing scripts is balanced with privacy policy disclosures, though the lack of a visible cookie consent banner is a compliance gap. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Security headers are partially implemented or not explicitly visible, suggesting room for improvement. Incident response and vulnerability disclosure policies are not published, which could impact transparency and readiness. Overall, the security culture appears professional but could benefit from enhanced public security documentation and explicit privacy controls to align with GDPR and other regulations.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and display a cookie consent banner to comply with privacy regulations and improve user transparency.
  2. Add explicit security headers such as X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen browser security.
  3. Publish an incident response policy and provide a dedicated security contact channel to improve transparency and readiness.
  4. Consider creating and publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and tracking tools to minimize security risks and ensure privacy compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Forsyth Barr Limited
Description
A New Zealand owned investment firm providing a full range of investment services including sharebroking, portfolio management, research and investment banking.
Key services
Sharebroking, Portfolio management, Research, Investment banking, Managed investment portfolios, Transactional investment services, Digital investment services, KiwiSaver scheme
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, jQuery UI Autocomplete, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Mouseflow, Intercom
Frameworks
Bootstrap (navbar classes), React (HomeMarketPerformanceChart.js), Lottie animations
Platforms
Web, Mobile apps (iOS and Android)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • Secure login portal (https://secure.forsythbarr.co.nz)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of modern security and analytics scripts
  • Google site verification meta tags

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Mouseflow, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Mouseflow
Marketing tools
Intercom
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well maintained.
  2. Content is comprehensive and targeted at New Zealand investors.
  3. No WHOIS data available for the exact domain queried, possibly due to subdomain or domain registration under a different name.
  4. Secure login portal is separate and uses HTTPS.
  5. No visible cookie consent banner despite tracking scripts present.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
  7. Multiple trusted external links and social media presence.
  8. No adult or questionable content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack including React for interactive components, Bootstrap for responsive design, and various third-party analytics and marketing tools. The CMS appears to be Umbraco or a similar .NET-based system, inferred from URL patterns. The site is mobile-optimized with good accessibility and SEO practices. Performance is moderate, with some heavy scripts and animations that could be optimized. The infrastructure supports secure HTTPS connections and a separate secure login portal. Technical risks include reliance on multiple third-party scripts which require ongoing security management. Opportunities exist to improve loading speed and implement additional security headers to reduce attack surface.
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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