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Security report for hwca.com

Haines Watts · Finance · United Kingdom

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

Haines Watts is a UK-based professional services firm specializing in chartered accountancy, VAT, tax advisory, and business advisory services. The company targets business owners and entrepreneurs, offering a comprehensive suite of services to help clients achieve their business goals efficiently. The website reflects a mature and professional market position with consistent branding and high-quality content. Technically, the website is built on the Umbraco CMS platform and leverages modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager, HubSpot, Cookiebot for consent management, and Google reCAPTCHA for form security. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and performs moderately well, with good SEO practices implemented. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, uses security headers, and employs anti-bot measures. Cookie consent and privacy compliance are well managed, indicating a strong privacy posture. However, the absence of a publicly available security policy or incident response information is a gap. The WHOIS data is missing, which slightly reduces trust but does not outweigh the professional presentation and compliance indicators. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with strong business credibility and technical maturity. Strategic recommendations include publishing a security policy, incident response contacts, and improving WHOIS transparency to enhance trust further.

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

2 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 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 hwca.com

This scan found 21 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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Recommended

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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
64
Security headers
55
Email security
83
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
Average
78

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 hwca.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
5
Employees
0
Customers
0
Third parties
5
Weak passwords
40%

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 hwca.com.

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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

Haines Watts operates in the finance sector, focusing on accounting and tax advisory services for SMEs and entrepreneurs in the UK. Their business model is service-oriented, generating revenue through professional fees. The firm maintains a strong partnership ecosystem with marketing and analytics providers like HubSpot and Google. Growth indicators include a comprehensive service portfolio and active content marketing through podcasts and insights. The company leverages digital tools for client engagement and marketing, positioning itself competitively in the regional accounting market.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good security maturity level with HTTPS enforcement, use of reCAPTCHA, CSRF tokens in forms, and cookie consent management. Security headers are present, enhancing protection against common web attacks. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Compliance with GDPR is evident through privacy and cookie policies. However, the lack of a published security policy and incident response information limits transparency and preparedness perception. There is no evidence of a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file, which could improve security culture and responsiveness.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Add an incident response contact or page to facilitate reporting and handling of security incidents.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Consider implementing and publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Evaluate DNSSEC implementation to enhance domain name system security.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Haines Watts
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Haines Watts
Description
At Haines Watts, we offer professional services to people who run their own business, delivered by people who understand them, and share their ambitions, passion and commitment... helping achieve their business goals faster and with fewer missteps.
Key services
Accounting, Auditing, Tax Advisory, Business Process Outsourcing, Business Advisory, Payroll, VAT & Customs Duty
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Google Fonts, jQuery, Umbraco CMS, Cookiebot, HubSpot, Google reCAPTCHA, Slick Carousel, Magnific Popup, Pushy Menu
Frameworks
Umbraco
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of reCAPTCHA for forms
  • Cookie consent management
  • CSRF token usage in forms

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, HubSpot Analytics, Sentry Replay
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google AdSense
Tracking pixels
HubSpot, Cookiebot
Marketing tools
HubSpot, Clearbit
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 content-rich
  2. Strong cookie consent and privacy compliance mechanisms
  3. Use of multiple third-party marketing and analytics tools
  4. No signs of malware or phishing
  5. WHOIS data missing, which is unusual for a professional business
  6. No explicit security policy or incident response page found
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Umbraco CMS platform, utilizing a modern tech stack including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, HubSpot, and Cookiebot. The site is mobile responsive and accessible, with good SEO metadata and Open Graph tags. Performance is moderate, with room for optimization. The use of multiple third-party marketing and analytics tools indicates a mature digital marketing strategy but requires ongoing security and privacy oversight. Technical risks include dependency on external scripts and the need for continuous monitoring of third-party integrations.
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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