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Security report for hie.co.uk

Highlands and Islands Enterprise · Government · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

72/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is a well-established economic and community development agency serving the Highlands and Islands region of Scotland. The organization supports businesses, social enterprises, and communities through funding, property assistance, training, and advisory services. With over 60 years of operation, HIE positions itself as a key regional development entity focused on sustainable growth and prosperity. The website reflects a professional and comprehensive digital presence, targeting a broad audience including local businesses, investors, and community groups. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, and Google reCAPTCHA, indicating a mature digital infrastructure with attention to user experience and security. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, with clear navigation and well-structured content. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with good SSL configuration and implements cookie consent mechanisms. However, some advanced security headers are missing, and there is no publicly available security policy or incident response information. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. Overall, the website presents a low risk profile with strong business credibility and privacy compliance. The main limitation is the lack of WHOIS data for the queried domain 'www.hie.co.uk', which appears to be an invalid domain format. The actual domain is likely 'hie.co.uk', which aligns with the organization's identity. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing a security policy, and adding a vulnerability disclosure mechanism to further strengthen trust and compliance.

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. 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 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';…
  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

Keep watching hie.co.uk

This scan found 22 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
77
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
Average
72

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 hie.co.uk, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
13
Employees
0
Customers
13
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
0%

4 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for hie.co.uk.

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Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

HIE operates as a government/non-profit entity focused on regional economic development. Its market position is strong within the Highlands and Islands, leveraging decades of experience and a broad portfolio of services including funding, property management, and skills development. The business model is service-oriented, supporting local economic growth and community well-being. Revenue streams likely include government funding and grants. The target customer segments include local businesses, social enterprises, investors, and community organizations. The organization maintains an active partnership ecosystem and a transparent communication approach through news, reports, and social media. Growth indicators include published investment figures and job creation statistics.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, use of reCAPTCHA on forms, and cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR. Security headers are partially implemented, with room for improvement by adding Content-Security-Policy and other headers. No exposed sensitive information or vulnerable libraries were detected. The absence of a published security policy or incident response contact reduces transparency. Compliance with privacy regulations is evident, but incident response readiness and vulnerability disclosure practices are not publicly documented. Overall, the security culture appears proactive but could benefit from formalized policies and disclosures.

Recommendations

  1. Implement additional HTTP 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 dedicated security policy page outlining security practices, compliance, and incident response procedures to improve transparency and trust.
  3. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and libraries to mitigate risks from vulnerable components.
  5. Enhance data retention and privacy policy details to clearly communicate data handling and user rights.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Description
We are the economic and community development agency for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, working with organisations and communities for over 50 years.
Key services
Funding, Business and product development, Developing people and skills, Community development, Digital development and Artificial Intelligence, Exporting and international markets, Property and land support
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, Google reCAPTCHA, Bugherd, Civic Computing Cookie Control
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

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

Analytics and tracking

Services
Facebook Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Twitter Universal Website Tag, Hotjar
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. Clear focus on supporting economic and community development in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
  3. Comprehensive cookie and privacy policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Multiple social media channels linked.
  5. Use of modern analytics and tracking tools with privacy considerations.
  6. No signs of adult or inappropriate content.
  7. WHOIS data for the queried domain is unavailable due to invalid domain format.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, and Google reCAPTCHA, indicating integration of analytics, user behavior tracking, and bot protection. The site loads external fonts from Google Fonts and uses SVG icons for UI elements. Cookie consent is managed via Civic Computing's Cookie Control. The site is mobile responsive and accessible, with semantic HTML and ARIA attributes. Performance is moderate, with some external dependencies. No CMS was explicitly detected. Hosting provider details are not evident from the content. The technical implementation supports a professional user experience with opportunities for security header 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

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