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Security report for mpaaccounting.co.uk

MPA Accounting · Other · United Kingdom

High risk. 7 critical or high findings in Network security, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

MPA Accounting is a small, island-based accounting firm specializing in accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, and tax-related services for sole traders, limited companies, partnerships, and individuals primarily in the Isle of Wight area. The company emphasizes personalized customer service and offers a range of specialized services including VAT returns, self-assessment, and construction industry scheme compliance. Their market position is that of a trusted local specialist with an AAT qualified team and positive client testimonials. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using popular plugins and themes, with moderate performance and good mobile optimization. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS and cookie consent mechanisms in place, though some security headers and incident response information are missing. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and compliant with GDPR, but could improve in security best practices and transparency. The domain is long-standing and consistent with the business history, supporting legitimacy.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
85/ 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

7 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Network security

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

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

      Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MySQL using firewall or VPN

      • 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
    • 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

  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

  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"

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

Keep watching mpaaccounting.co.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

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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
62
Security headers
35
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
85
Average
52
After the cap
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 · found on this site
  • 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

MPA Accounting operates in the professional services sector, focusing on accounting and related financial services for small businesses and individuals. Their competitive advantage lies in personalized service, local expertise, and a comprehensive service offering tailored to niche sectors such as holiday lets, farms, and construction. The business model is service-based with revenue likely from recurring client engagements and specialized tax services. The target customer segment includes small to medium enterprises and individual taxpayers on the Isle of Wight. The company maintains an active social media presence and uses marketing tools like cookie consent and popups to engage visitors. Growth indicators include a well-maintained website, client testimonials, and a clear service portfolio. No direct partnerships or subsidiaries were identified from the website content.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enabled and cookie consent implemented, reflecting GDPR compliance. However, explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options are not evident, which could expose the site to certain web-based attacks. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. The absence of a security policy or incident response contact reduces transparency and preparedness perception. The use of popular WordPress plugins necessitates regular updates to mitigate plugin-related vulnerabilities. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a small business website but could be enhanced by implementing recommended headers, security policies, and incident response mechanisms.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen web security.
  2. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to comply with standards and improve user experience.
  5. Consider adding a security.txt file and vulnerability disclosure policy to encourage responsible reporting.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
MPA Accounting
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
MPA Accounting
Description
MPA Accounting is an Island Based Company offering services in Accounting, Bookkeeping, Payroll and related services. They focus on great customer service at a set price and provide accounting services for sole traders, limited companies, partnerships and individuals.
Key services
Accounting, Bookkeeping, Payroll, Self Assessment, VAT Returns, Construction Industry Scheme, Limited Companies accounting, Holiday Let/Buy to Let tax planning, Farms & Equestrian accounting
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, PHP, jQuery, WPBakery Page Builder, Slider Revolution, Forminator plugin, Ultimate VC Addons, Google Fonts
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Use of security and privacy plugins (Complianz GDPR)
  • Cookie consent banner implemented

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
Complianz GDPR plugin (cookie consent), Hustle plugin (marketing popups)
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 with clear navigation and good content quality
  2. Strong focus on local accounting services with detailed service descriptions
  3. Cookie consent and privacy policy are implemented indicating GDPR awareness
  4. No visible security policy or incident response information
  5. No terms of service page found
  6. Social media presence on Facebook, Twitter (X), and LinkedIn
  7. Use of popular WordPress plugins and themes with moderate performance
  8. No suspicious or malicious content detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with a modern tech stack including PHP, jQuery, and popular plugins such as WPBakery Page Builder, Slider Revolution, and Forminator. It uses Google Fonts and is hosted via 123-Reg Limited. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and SEO practices with proper meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). Performance is moderate, with some potential for improvement in load times and resource optimization. Accessibility is basic and could be improved. The technical infrastructure is typical for a small professional services website, balancing ease of use with functionality. No critical technical debt or risks were identified, but ongoing maintenance is essential to ensure security and performance.
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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