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Security report for growthbusiness.co.uk

Growth Business · Media · United Kingdom

High risk. 8 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Growth Business is a UK-based online media portal focused on providing news, analysis, and resources for entrepreneurs and fast-growth businesses. It operates under the parent company Stubben Edge and offers a wide range of content including funding, managing, expansion, technology, and venture capital topics. The website is well-positioned in the UK market with a professional design and consistent branding, targeting entrepreneurs seeking growth and investment insights. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern plugins and integrates multiple advertising and analytics services, supported by a comprehensive GDPR-compliant consent mechanism. Security measures include HTTPS, reCAPTCHA, and partial security headers, though there is room for improvement in header implementation. Overall, the site demonstrates a strong security posture and good privacy compliance, with clear contact information and business legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, maintaining plugin updates, and potentially adding a dedicated security policy page.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
65/ 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

8 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • 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 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

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

Keep watching growthbusiness.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
37
Security headers
50
Email security
40
DNS health
60
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
65
Average
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
  • 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 website serves as a media and information hub for entrepreneurs, focusing on high-potential, fast-growth businesses in the UK. It leverages a content-driven business model with revenue streams from subscriptions, advertising, and sponsored content. The presence of a venture capital directory and job listings indicates a diversified service offering. The parent company Stubben Edge provides governance and legal framework, enhancing credibility. The extensive use of third-party ad networks and tracking vendors reflects a mature digital marketing ecosystem. The target audience includes entrepreneurs, investors, and business professionals seeking growth strategies and funding options. The site’s market position is strengthened by its comprehensive content, professional presentation, and active social media presence.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate, ensuring encrypted communications. It uses Google reCAPTCHA to protect forms from automated abuse and implements a consent management platform for GDPR compliance. Security headers are partially implemented, including an origin-trial Content-Security-Policy, but lack some recommended headers like HSTS and X-Content-Type-Options. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The extensive use of third-party scripts and ad networks introduces potential risk vectors, mitigated by user consent mechanisms. Incident response and security policy pages are not present, indicating an area for improvement in transparency and readiness. Overall, the security posture is good but could be enhanced by completing security header implementation and publishing security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement full security headers including HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options, and Referrer-Policy to strengthen browser security.
  2. Maintain regular updates of WordPress core, themes, and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and preparedness.
  4. Review and monitor third-party scripts and ad networks for security and privacy compliance.
  5. Enhance user education on privacy choices and data protection through clear messaging and accessible controls.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Stubben Edge
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Growth Business
Description
An online media portal featuring latest news and analysis for entrepreneurs at the helm of high potential, fast-growth businesses.
Key services
News and analysis articles, Subscription services, Advertising, Venture capital directory, Job listings
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.6.1, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Google reCAPTCHA, Bootstrap 4.4.1, jQuery, Newspack Blocks, Gravity Forms, Download Monitor, Bonhill Blocks, TablePress
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
AWS S3 (for media hosting)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS
  • reCAPTCHA for forms
  • Consent management platform for GDPR
  • No exposed credentials or sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Ahrefs Analytics
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ad Manager, DoubleClick, Taboola, Roq.ad, AdMaxim, Index Exchange, Quantcast, Beeswax, Sovrn, Adikteev, RTB House, The Trade Desk, Amobee, Smaato, Semasio, Crimtan, Criteo, Adloox, Blis, Lotame
Tracking pixels
Ahrefs Analytics, Moat, Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Newspack Blocks, Gravity Forms
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional media portal targeting UK entrepreneurs and fast-growth businesses
  2. Comprehensive content covering funding, managing, expansion, technology, and venture capital
  3. Strong use of structured data and SEO best practices
  4. Extensive use of third-party advertising and tracking vendors with user consent management
  5. Clear contact information and business details provided
  6. No signs of WAF or content blocking
  7. Good security posture with HTTPS and reCAPTCHA, but could improve security headers
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 6.6.1, utilizing a modern tech stack including Bootstrap 4.4.1, jQuery, and various plugins such as Newspack Blocks, Gravity Forms, and Download Monitor. Media assets are hosted on Amazon S3, indicating scalable infrastructure. The site uses Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics for tracking, alongside multiple advertising networks. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. The site demonstrates technical maturity suitable for a content-driven media portal but could benefit from performance optimizations and enhanced security configurations.
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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