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Security report for imperialbrandsplc.com

Imperial Brands PLC · Other · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

64/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Imperial Brands PLC operates as the fourth largest multinational tobacco company, focusing on tobacco and smoke-free alternatives. The company positions itself as a challenger business within the transforming tobacco industry, targeting adult consumers, investors, and potential employees. Their website provides comprehensive corporate, investor, and career information, reflecting a mature and professional business model with a global presence. The site emphasizes ESG commitments and innovation in next generation products, aligning with modern market trends. Technically, the website is built on Adobe Experience Manager, leveraging modern JavaScript libraries and tracking tools such as Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, and LinkedIn Insight. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, with a fast and professional user experience. Privacy and cookie policies are clearly presented with consent mechanisms, indicating good compliance with GDPR and related regulations. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS and employs cookie consent but lacks explicit published security policies or incident response contacts. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The absence of WHOIS data limits domain trust verification, but the professional corporate presence and consistent branding support legitimacy. Overall, the website demonstrates a strong security posture with room for improvement in transparency and incident response readiness. The overall risk assessment is low, with recommendations to publish security policies, provide incident response contacts, and implement a security.txt file to enhance trust and compliance. The domain's WHOIS inconsistency should be monitored but does not currently detract significantly from the site's credibility.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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

6 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. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • 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

  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

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 26 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates

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

Keep watching imperialbrandsplc.com

This scan found 23 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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Full report

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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
55
Security headers
20
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
64

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

Imperial Brands holds a significant market position as a challenger in the tobacco industry, focusing on both traditional tobacco products and next generation smoke-free alternatives. Their business model includes product innovation, consumer focus, and ESG commitments, targeting adult consumers and investors. The website's investor hub and career sections indicate active engagement with stakeholders and talent acquisition. The company leverages digital tools for marketing and analytics, reflecting a mature digital strategy. The absence of detailed WHOIS data is a minor concern but likely due to privacy or registry policies rather than malicious intent. The company maintains a consistent brand and messaging aligned with its strategic goals.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good security posture with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms in place. Tracking and analytics scripts are used responsibly with privacy considerations. However, the lack of a dedicated security policy page and incident response contact information represents a gap in transparency and readiness. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the HTML content. The site could benefit from enhanced HTTP security headers and a published security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability reporting. Overall, the security maturity is solid but could be improved to meet best practices for corporate transparency and incident management.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information, including security or abuse email addresses.
  3. Implement and publish a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability disclosures.
  4. Review and enhance HTTP security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP) and HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS).
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools for security and privacy compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Imperial Brands PLC
Registration number
3236483
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Imperial Brands PLC
Description
Imperial Brands, the 4th largest multinational tobacco company, is a global consumer-focused organisation embracing its role as a challenger in the industry.
Key services
Tobacco products, Next generation smoke-free products, Investor relations, Careers and recruitment
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Vimeo Player API, Microsoft Clarity, Google Tag Manager, LinkedIn Insight Tag, jQuery, Moment.js, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)
Frameworks
Adobe Experience Manager
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

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

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, LinkedIn Insight
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
LinkedIn Insight Tag, Microsoft Clarity, Google Analytics (via GTM)
Marketing tools
LinkedIn Insight, Microsoft Clarity
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Corporate website for a major multinational tobacco company
  2. Comprehensive investor and career information available
  3. Modern web technologies and tracking tools used
  4. Good privacy and cookie compliance with consent mechanism
  5. No visible security policy or incident response info
  6. WHOIS data unavailable, limiting domain trust verification
  7. No WAF or blocking detected, full content accessible
  8. Content appropriate for mature audience due to tobacco industry
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Adobe Experience Manager, a robust enterprise CMS platform, ensuring scalability and content management efficiency. It uses modern JavaScript libraries including jQuery and Moment.js, and integrates video content via Vimeo Player API. Analytics and marketing tools include Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, and LinkedIn Insight, enabling comprehensive user behavior tracking and marketing optimization. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. Performance is moderate, with potential improvements in loading speed by optimizing third-party scripts. The technical infrastructure supports a professional and user-friendly digital presence aligned with corporate standards.
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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