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Security report for merlinestates.com

Merlin Estates Ltd · Real Estate · United Kingdom

High risk. 8 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Merlin Estates Ltd is a UK-based family-run residential property management company specializing in the administration and maintenance of private residential estates. The company offers a range of services including property management, maintenance, financial management, company secretary services, development site visits, and property insurance. Positioned as a cost-effective and professional service provider, Merlin Estates targets developers and residential property owners seeking reliable estate management solutions. The website content is clear and focused on their core business, with contact information and service details prominently displayed. Technically, the website employs standard web technologies including Google Analytics for visitor tracking, Pinterest scripts, and Google Maps API for location services. The site is accessible and functional but shows basic mobile optimization and limited accessibility features. There is no detected CMS or advanced frameworks, indicating a simple custom-built or static site. Performance is moderate with no major issues detected. From a security perspective, the site lacks visible security headers and does not provide privacy or cookie policies, which are critical for GDPR compliance and user trust. The WHOIS data for the domain is missing, raising concerns about domain registration legitimacy and ownership transparency. No forms or email addresses are present for direct contact, limiting user engagement options. Overall, the security posture is basic and requires improvements to meet modern standards. The overall risk assessment suggests the business is legitimate but would benefit from enhanced transparency, security best practices, and privacy compliance measures. Strategic recommendations include implementing HTTPS with strong SSL, publishing privacy and cookie policies, adding security headers, and clarifying domain registration details to improve trust and compliance.

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. 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

    • 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Google APIs

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

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

Keep watching merlinestates.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.

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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
47
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
35
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

Merlin Estates Ltd operates in the real estate sector focusing on residential property management services in the UK. Their business model is service-based, charging clients a one-off fee with no hidden charges, targeting developers and residential property owners. The company emphasizes professional service delivery, accountability, and cost-effectiveness. Market positioning is that of a small, family-run business with experienced personnel. The website indicates a focus on compliance and client satisfaction but lacks visible certifications or trust badges. The partnership with www.myblockonline.co.uk suggests integration with online payment or customer login services. Growth indicators or revenue streams are not disclosed. The company maintains a straightforward service offering without evident diversification or subsidiaries.

Security posture

The website's security maturity is low to moderate. Key vulnerabilities include the absence of HTTPS enforcement confirmation, lack of security headers (such as CSP, X-Frame-Options, and HSTS), and missing privacy and cookie policies which are essential for GDPR compliance. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is provided, limiting transparency in security management. The WHOIS data absence is a significant concern, potentially indicating domain registration issues or privacy protection that is not justified. The use of third-party analytics and social sharing scripts introduces moderate tracking but no evident malicious or vulnerable libraries were detected. Overall, the security posture requires enhancements to protect user data, improve compliance, and build trust.

Recommendations

  1. Implement HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate and enforce secure connections site-wide.
  2. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with a user consent mechanism to ensure GDPR compliance.
  3. Add essential security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  4. Clarify domain registration details and ensure WHOIS information is accurate and transparent to improve legitimacy and trust.
  5. Establish an incident response plan and publish vulnerability disclosure guidelines to enhance security culture and user confidence.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Merlin Estates Ltd
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Merlin Estates Ltd
Description
Merlin Estates Ltd is a residential property management services company specializing in the day-to-day administration of private residential estates. It is a family-run business providing professional property management services to developers and residential property owners.
Key services
Residential Property Management Services, Maintenance and Contractor Services, Financial Management, Company Secretary Services, Development Site Visits and Meetings, Property Insurance
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Analytics, Pinterest JS, Google Maps API
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
40/100

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Pinterest
Marketing tools
ShareThis
Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
basic
User experience
basic
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
basic
Trustworthiness
moderate

Key observations

  1. Website is accessible with full content and no blocking detected.
  2. WHOIS data is missing, indicating possible domain registration issues or privacy.
  3. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found on the site.
  4. Contact information is present but no email addresses found.
  5. Use of Google Analytics and Pinterest scripts for tracking.
  6. No security headers detected; SSL status unknown.
  7. Website content is focused on residential property management services in the UK.
  8. Design and technical implementation are basic but functional.
  9. No forms detected on the homepage or main content.
  10. No social media links found on the site.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses basic web technologies with no detected CMS or advanced frameworks. It integrates Google Analytics for visitor tracking, Pinterest scripts for social sharing, and Google Maps API for location display. The site has a moderate performance profile with basic mobile optimization and accessibility features. Meta tags for SEO are present but limited. The site lacks modern frontend frameworks or content management systems, indicating a simple static or custom-coded site. There is no evidence of advanced hosting provider details or CDN usage. Technical debt appears low but modernization opportunities exist to improve performance, security, and user experience.
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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