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Security report for ncsc.gov.uk

National Cyber Security Centre · Government · United Kingdom

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

84/100

Risk levelLow

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

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is a UK government organization dedicated to enhancing the cybersecurity posture of the UK by providing authoritative advice, guidance, and incident response support. Positioned as the leading UK government cybersecurity authority, the NCSC serves a broad audience including individuals, businesses of all sizes, public sector organizations, and cybersecurity professionals. Their key services encompass cybersecurity advice, incident reporting, assurance schemes, educational initiatives, and practical toolkits to improve cyber resilience. Technically, the NCSC website employs modern web technologies including React for a single-page application experience, uses web fonts for consistent branding, and implements JSON-LD structured data to enhance search engine understanding. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices, accessible, and demonstrates good SEO practices. Hosting and infrastructure details are not explicitly disclosed but the site benefits from the robust security and reliability standards typical of UK government domains. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, includes cookie consent mechanisms, and avoids exposing sensitive data. While explicit security headers are not visible in the provided data, the site likely adheres to UK government security standards. No vulnerabilities or security issues were detected. The absence of WHOIS data is consistent with UK government domain privacy policies and does not detract from the site's legitimacy. Overall, the NCSC website is a highly professional, trustworthy, and authoritative resource for cybersecurity information and services in the UK. It demonstrates strong content quality, technical maturity, and privacy compliance, making it a reliable platform for its diverse user base.

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

2 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  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

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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
82
Security headers
80
Email security
98
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
84

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

The NCSC operates as an essential government entity within the cybersecurity sector, holding a dominant market position as the UK's primary cybersecurity authority. Its business model revolves around providing free, authoritative cybersecurity guidance, incident response coordination, and assurance services to protect national infrastructure and citizens. The organization targets a wide range of customers from individuals to large public and private sector organizations. The NCSC benefits from strong partnerships with UK intelligence and security agencies such as GCHQ, MI5, SIS, and NPSA, reinforcing its strategic position. The website's comprehensive content and resources indicate a mature digital presence supporting its mission. Revenue streams are government-funded, focusing on public service rather than commercial profit. Growth indicators include expanding educational programs and toolkits for small businesses. The partnership ecosystem is robust, involving multiple UK government agencies and trusted external platforms.

Security posture

The NCSC website exhibits a mature security posture consistent with a high-profile government entity. HTTPS is enforced, and cookie consent mechanisms are implemented to comply with privacy regulations. The site avoids exposing sensitive information and likely employs standard security headers and controls typical of UK government domains, although explicit headers were not visible in the provided data. Incident response channels are clearly defined, including a dedicated incident reporting portal. The site supports vulnerability disclosure through a dedicated page, although a security.txt file was not detected. No known vulnerabilities or security misconfigurations were identified. Compliance with GDPR and other relevant regulations is evident through privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the security culture appears strong, with a focus on protecting users and maintaining trust.

Recommendations

  1. Publish explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options to enhance security posture.
  2. Implement and publicly link a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability disclosure and improve transparency.
  3. Enhance visibility of security frameworks or certifications to reinforce trust and compliance.
  4. Consider adding direct contact emails or phone numbers for security incident response to improve accessibility.
  5. Regularly review and update cookie and privacy policies to maintain compliance with evolving regulations.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
National Cyber Security Centre
Description
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is a UK government organization focused on making the UK the safest place to live and work online by providing cyber security advice, guidance, and incident response support.
Key services
Cyber security advice and guidance, Incident reporting and response, Cyber security assurance services, Education and skills development, Cyber security toolkits and resources
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (SPA indicated by main.js and index-init.js), Poppins web fonts, JSON-LD structured data, Manifest for PWA, SVG icons
Frameworks
React
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by gov.uk domain and secure links)
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of CSP and other headers not explicitly visible but likely present given gov.uk standards

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
excellent

Advertising

Transparency
excellent

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a UK government official site for the National Cyber Security Centre
  2. Content is comprehensive, well-structured, and professionally presented
  3. No signs of malicious or suspicious content
  4. Strong focus on cybersecurity advice, incident response, and education
  5. Social media and external links point to official and reputable domains
  6. No WHOIS data available due to privacy restrictions typical for UK government domains
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern web technologies, primarily React, delivering a responsive and accessible user experience. The use of web fonts and SVG icons supports consistent branding and visual quality. The site includes JSON-LD structured data for improved SEO and integration with search engines. Performance is moderate, with potential for optimization in loading times and resource management. The absence of a detected CMS suggests a custom or government-managed platform. Hosting details are not explicit but likely leverage secure UK government infrastructure. Technical debt appears minimal, and the site is well-maintained with up-to-date content and resources. Opportunities exist to enhance security headers and implement additional security best practices.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 84/100Low21 findingsView report
  2. 84/100Low20 findingsView report
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