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Security report for gcparch.co.uk

gcp Chartered Architects · Energy · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

60/100

Risk levelMedium

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

gcp Chartered Architects is a small, employee-owned architectural practice and energy consultancy based in Bristol, UK, with over 30 years of experience. They specialize in sustainable design, energy-efficient buildings, and Passivhaus standards, serving clients who seek innovative and environmentally responsible architectural solutions. The website is professionally designed using Squarespace, featuring rich visual content and clear navigation, targeting clients interested in sustainable architecture and energy consultancy. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies and integrates Google Analytics for user tracking, but lacks some security headers and privacy compliance features. The security posture is generally good with HTTPS enabled, but could be improved by adding security headers and visible privacy policies. The WHOIS data for the domain is unavailable and shows an error indicating the domain name is invalid per Nominet UK rules, which raises concerns about domain legitimacy despite the professional website content. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professional but should address privacy compliance and domain registration issues to improve credibility and security.

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. 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

  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 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';…

  3. 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

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

Keep watching gcparch.co.uk

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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
54
Security headers
35
Email security
70
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
60

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 company positions itself as a niche player in sustainable architecture and energy consultancy, leveraging certifications like Passivhaus design expertise. Their business model focuses on providing comprehensive architectural and energy consultancy services to clients aiming for sustainable and low-carbon buildings. The firm has a strong local presence in Bristol and surrounding areas, with a portfolio including housing, sport and leisure, and regeneration projects. The website content and blog indicate active engagement with industry awards and recognition, enhancing market credibility. The use of Squarespace suggests a focus on ease of content management and professional presentation. The absence of detailed financial or parent company information suggests an independent small business. Social media links to Instagram and LinkedIn support marketing and client engagement efforts.

Security posture

The website enforces HTTPS, which is a critical security feature. However, it lacks important security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options, which could mitigate common web vulnerabilities. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The site uses third-party scripts including Google Analytics and Typekit fonts, which are standard but require monitoring for security updates. There is no visible privacy policy or cookie consent mechanism, which is a compliance and security concern. The WHOIS data is missing or invalid, which may indicate domain registration issues or misconfiguration, potentially impacting trust. Incident response and security policy information are not provided, limiting transparency. Overall, the security posture is moderate but could be significantly improved with better headers, privacy compliance, and domain legitimacy verification.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and configure security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Publish a clear and comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent banner to comply with GDPR and improve user trust.
  3. Investigate and resolve the domain WHOIS registration issue to ensure domain legitimacy and avoid trust concerns.
  4. Establish and publish a security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and dependencies for vulnerabilities and update them promptly.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
gcp Chartered Architects
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
gcp Chartered Architects
Description
gcp is an employee-owned chartered architectural practice and energy consultancy based in Bristol. They have over 30 years’ experience and focus on sustainable design, energy efficient buildings, and low embodied carbon projects. Their team includes Certified Passivhaus Designers and Energy Assessment qualified professionals. They work closely with clients to deliver cost-effective, beautiful, and sustainable architectural solutions.
Key services
Architectural design, Energy consultancy, Passivhaus design, Sustainable building consultancy
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Squarespace CMS, Google Analytics, Typekit Fonts, JavaScript, CSS
Platforms
Squarespace
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and images
  2. No privacy or cookie policy found on site
  3. Contact information is clearly presented with email, phone, and physical address
  4. Social media presence on Instagram and LinkedIn
  5. Uses Squarespace CMS and hosting
  6. Google Analytics and Tag Manager used for tracking
  7. No visible security headers detected
  8. WHOIS data unavailable and domain registration appears invalid
  9. No forms detected on the homepage or contact page in provided HTML
  10. No visible GDPR compliance mechanisms such as cookie banners
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Squarespace platform, leveraging its CMS and hosting services. It uses modern web technologies including JavaScript, CSS, and Typekit fonts for typography. Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager are integrated for visitor tracking and analytics. The site is mobile-optimized with good navigation clarity and professional design. Performance is moderate, typical for a Squarespace site with rich media content. Accessibility features are basic but present. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and Open Graph data. There is no evidence of technical debt or outdated technologies. However, the lack of security headers and privacy compliance features indicates areas for technical improvement. The domain registration inconsistency is a technical risk that should be addressed to avoid potential service disruptions or trust issues.
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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