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Security report for mermaidsuk.org.uk

Mermaids · Non-profit · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Network security and 2 other checks.

Security score

56/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Mermaids is a well-established UK-based non-profit organization dedicated to supporting transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse children, young people, and their families since 1995. The website serves as a comprehensive resource offering support lines, community groups, training for professionals, and educational materials. The organization relies on donations and fundraising, with a dedicated merchandise store to support its mission. The site demonstrates a strong market position within the LGBTQ+ support sector in the UK, with clear branding and trust indicators such as charity registration and funding acknowledgments. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern frameworks like UIkit and uses reputable third-party services for fundraising and analytics. The site is mobile-optimized, SEO-friendly, and incorporates privacy and cookie consent mechanisms, reflecting a mature digital presence. Performance is moderate with room for optimization, and accessibility is basic but functional. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and employs standard best practices, though explicit security headers could be improved. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy compliance is strong with a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent. Contact information is clearly provided, enhancing business credibility. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and safe for general audiences. It effectively supports its mission and community while maintaining good security and privacy standards.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

5 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 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';…

  4. GDPR outside view

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

    • 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

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

Keep watching mermaidsuk.org.uk

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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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
62
Security headers
60
Email security
70
DNS health
65
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
58
Average
56

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

Mermaids operates as a specialized charity focusing on gender-diverse youth support in the UK. Its competitive advantage lies in its long-standing presence, comprehensive support services, and community engagement. Revenue streams include donations, fundraising events, and merchandise sales. The target customers are families, young people, and professionals seeking support or training related to gender diversity. The organization shows growth potential through digital engagement and partnerships. Its ecosystem includes social media platforms and fundraising partners, reinforcing its outreach and funding capabilities.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security posture with HTTPS enforced and no visible security flaws. The presence of cookie consent and privacy policies indicates compliance with GDPR. However, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options suggests room for enhancement. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information was found, which could be improved to bolster security readiness. Overall, the site maintains a secure environment appropriate for a non-profit handling sensitive community support.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  3. Enhance accessibility features to meet higher compliance standards and improve user experience for all visitors.
  4. Consider adding explicit incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  5. Optimize website performance for faster load times, especially on mobile devices, to improve user engagement.

Contact details published on the site

Legal name
Mermaids
Registration number
1160575
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Mermaids
Description
Helping gender-diverse kids, young people and their families since 1995
Key services
Support line, Community groups, Training for professionals, Resources for families and young people, Advocacy and awareness
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 7.0.2, jQuery, UIkit, Google Fonts, Fundraise Up widget
Frameworks
UIkit
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

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

Analytics and tracking

Services
Independent Analytics Pro (custom plugin)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Fundraise Up
Marketing tools
Fundraise Up
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-structured.
  2. Clear focus on supporting transgender and gender-diverse youth and their families.
  3. Multiple contact channels including phone and web chat support line.
  4. Strong social media presence across major platforms.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and CMS (WordPress).
  6. Cookie consent and privacy policy present indicating GDPR compliance.
  7. No signs of malicious or suspicious content or domains.
  8. Fundraising and donation mechanisms integrated securely.
  9. No visible security vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data.
Technical notes

Notes

The website leverages WordPress CMS with UIkit framework and jQuery libraries, indicating a modern but standard technology stack. Integration with Fundraise Up for donations and Independent Analytics Pro for tracking shows use of specialized third-party tools. The site is mobile responsive and SEO optimized with proper meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). Hosting details are limited but domain registrar is Cloudflare, suggesting potential CDN and security benefits. Performance is moderate, with opportunities for optimization. No deprecated or vulnerable libraries were detected in the provided HTML content.
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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