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Security report for growl.be

Growl · Technology · Belgium

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

Growl is a Belgian digital marketing agency specializing in growth marketing, web design, and employer branding services targeted at growth companies, non-profits, and government organizations. The company positions itself as a trusted partner with over 200 clients across 10 countries, emphasizing measurable digital growth and data-driven strategies. The website is professionally designed, mobile-optimized, and rich in content, reflecting a mature digital presence. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern tools such as Gravity Forms, Google Tag Manager, and Piwik PRO analytics, ensuring robust tracking and performance. Security posture is good with HTTPS enforced and privacy compliance evident through comprehensive cookie and privacy policies. However, WHOIS data is unavailable, which slightly impacts domain trustworthiness. Overall, Growl demonstrates a solid business and technical foundation with room for enhanced security headers and incident response transparency.

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

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 SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching growl.be

This scan found 20 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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  • 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
75
Security headers
65
Email security
80
DNS health
70
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
83
Average
62
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

Growl operates in the technology sector, focusing on B2B digital marketing and web development services. Their business model revolves around providing audits, strategic planning, advertising campaigns, and digital product development to help clients achieve measurable growth. The company leverages partnerships with technology and analytics providers to enhance service offerings. Their target market includes growth-oriented companies and organizations seeking data-driven marketing solutions. Testimonials and client logos indicate a reputable market position. The firm appears to be a small-sized enterprise founded around 2020, with no parent or subsidiary companies identified. Their content strategy and service portfolio suggest a competitive advantage in integrated digital growth solutions.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with a valid SSL configuration, uses cookie consent mechanisms compliant with GDPR, and integrates anti-spam protections. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and HSTS are not explicitly observed, which could enhance protection against common web attacks. The use of third-party scripts and analytics is managed with user consent, reflecting good privacy practices. Incident response and security policy documentation are not publicly available, indicating an area for improvement. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from additional hardening and transparency.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and HSTS to strengthen web security.
  2. Publish a clear security policy and incident response plan accessible to users and partners.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance transparency by providing contact channels for security incidents (e.g., security@ or abuse@ emails).
  5. Maintain and monitor WHOIS data accuracy to improve domain trust and legitimacy.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Growl
VAT number
BE0745504188
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Growl
Description
Growl helpt groeibedrijven met een doordachte digitale strategie om meer leads te krijgen. Van digitale marketing tot webdesign.
Key services
Audits, Digitale strategie, Adverteren (advertising), Digitaal bouwen (digital building/web development), Employer branding
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Gravity Forms, Google Tag Manager, Piwik PRO analytics, Leadinfo tracking, LiteSpeed Cache, jQuery 3.6.0
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner with opt-in
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of anti-spam plugin (CleanTalk)
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Piwik PRO, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Piwik PRO, Leadinfo
Marketing tools
Piwik PRO, Leadinfo
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and professional design.
  2. Strong focus on digital marketing and growth services for B2B clients.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Use of modern analytics and tracking tools with GDPR compliance.
  5. No security blocking or WAF detected.
  6. WHOIS data is unavailable, limiting domain trust verification.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS, utilizing modern JavaScript libraries including jQuery 3.6.0 and integrates advanced analytics platforms such as Piwik PRO and Google Tag Manager. It employs LiteSpeed Cache for performance optimization and lazy loading for images, contributing to fast load times and excellent mobile responsiveness. The site structure is SEO-optimized with proper meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data enhancing search visibility. Accessibility features are present but could be further improved with ARIA roles and keyboard navigation enhancements. Hosting provider details are not explicitly identified. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a high-quality user experience and scalable digital marketing operations.
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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