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Security report for howladerandco.com

Howlader & Co · Finance · United Kingdom

High risk. 8 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Network security and 2 other checks.

Security score

47/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Howlader & Co is a well-established chartered accountancy firm based in London, offering a comprehensive range of accounting and tax advisory services tailored to businesses of all sizes, including startups and small enterprises. With over 50 years of combined experience, the firm positions itself as a trusted partner for London businesses seeking expert financial guidance and tax efficiency. Their market position is reinforced by strong trust indicators such as professional certifications (ACCA, ICAEW, Xero Silver Partner) and excellent client reviews. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image with clear service offerings and contact information. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using modern frameworks like Foundation and includes popular libraries such as jQuery and Owl Carousel. It integrates Google Analytics and Tag Manager for tracking and employs Google reCAPTCHA for form security. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly, though performance is moderate. Cookie consent is implemented with user customization options, indicating attention to privacy compliance, although no explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages were found. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with good SSL configuration and includes some security best practices like CAPTCHA and consent banners. However, it lacks visible security headers and formal security or incident response policies. The WHOIS data is consistent with the business claims, showing a long-standing domain registration with a reputable UK registrar, supporting the legitimacy of the entity. Overall, Howlader & Co presents a credible, professional online presence with solid business credibility and moderate technical and security maturity. Enhancements in formal privacy documentation, security headers, and incident response disclosures would further strengthen their security posture and compliance standing.

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

8 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. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • 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

  3. 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"

  4. 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

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

Keep watching howladerandco.com

This scan found 26 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.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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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
47
Security headers
30
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
35
Average
47

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

Howlader & Co operates as a small-sized professional services firm specializing in chartered accountancy and tax advisory services within the London market. Their competitive advantage lies in their extensive experience, professional accreditations, and strong client satisfaction evidenced by numerous 5-star Google reviews. The business model focuses on personalized client relationships, offering tailored financial and tax solutions to startups, small businesses, and owner-managed companies. Revenue streams likely include accounting compliance, payroll services, bookkeeping, company formation, and tax planning. The firm maintains partnerships with recognized industry bodies and software providers such as ICAEW, ACCA, and Xero, enhancing their service credibility. The website content and structure indicate a growth-oriented approach with emphasis on client education through blogs and tools like a tax calculator. Strategic observations suggest a focus on maintaining high service quality and leveraging digital tools for client engagement.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and SSL properly configured. The use of Google reCAPTCHA on forms helps mitigate automated abuse. Cookie consent mechanisms are implemented with granular user controls, supporting GDPR compliance efforts. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-XSS-Protection reduces defense-in-depth. No public security policy or incident response information is available, indicating potential gaps in transparency and preparedness. The site uses third-party plugins and scripts which should be regularly audited to avoid vulnerabilities. No exposed sensitive data or known vulnerabilities were detected in the content. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a small professional services website but could be improved by adopting additional security best practices and publishing formal policies.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service pages to improve transparency and compliance.
  2. Implement and publish a formal security policy and incident response plan accessible to users.
  3. Add essential security headers (Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-XSS-Protection) to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party plugins and scripts to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Enable DNSSEC for the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Howlader & Co
Registration number
07141772
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Howlader & Co
Description
Howlader & Co are a friendly and dynamic Chartered Accountancy firm in London working with companies of all sizes. With over 50 years' experience, Howlader & Co are the Accountants London businesses turn to, and they have the knowledge and expertise to help your organisation thrive and be as tax efficient as possible.
Key services
Annual Accounts and Taxation Compliance, Startup Companies & LLP Formations, Onsite & Offsite Bookkeeping, Payroll Services, Enterprise Investment Scheme, Tax Calculator
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Foundation CSS framework, Owl Carousel, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google reCAPTCHA, AddThis sharing tools, Business Reviews Bundle plugin
Frameworks
Foundation
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Google reCAPTCHA implemented
  • Cookie consent banner with granular controls
  • Use of Google Tag Manager for analytics management

Analytics and tracking

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

Advertising

Marketing tools
AddThis Share Buttons
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured.
  2. Strong presence of trust indicators including certifications and positive reviews.
  3. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented with customization options.
  4. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages found.
  5. Contact information is clearly presented and consistent across the site.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  7. No security policy or incident response information publicly available.
  8. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
  9. WHOIS data supports legitimacy and consistency with business claims.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with a Foundation CSS framework and uses jQuery and Owl Carousel for interactive elements. It integrates Google Analytics and Tag Manager for tracking and marketing purposes, alongside AddThis for social sharing. The site loads asynchronously many scripts and stylesheets, which helps performance but some external dependencies may affect load times. The site is mobile responsive and SEO optimized with proper meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). Cookie consent is implemented with a modern user interface allowing customization. The technical infrastructure is typical for a small to medium professional services website, with moderate performance and good usability. Opportunities exist to improve accessibility and security headers to reduce technical debt and enhance user trust.
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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