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Security report for nhs.uk

NHS · Healthcare · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

72/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The NHS website for England serves as the primary official portal for health information and NHS services. It provides comprehensive resources including health conditions, NHS service directories, mental health support, and healthy living advice targeted at the general public in England. The site is well-branded with consistent NHS identity and Crown copyright, reinforcing its authoritative position in the healthcare sector. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Adobe Target and Adobe Analytics for marketing and analytics, with a responsive and accessible design ensuring excellent user experience across devices. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms in place, though explicit security headers are not visible in the HTML source. WHOIS data is unavailable due to registry restrictions typical for government domains, but the domain's legitimacy is supported by branding and content. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and compliant with privacy regulations, making it a reliable resource for healthcare information.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
65/ 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
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

  2. 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';…

  3. 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

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Facebook

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

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

Keep watching nhs.uk

This scan found 19 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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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
59
Security headers
55
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
65
Average
72

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

NHS.uk holds a dominant market position as the official health information website for NHS England, serving millions of users seeking healthcare guidance and services. Its business model is public service oriented, focusing on information dissemination rather than commercial revenue. The site leverages partnerships with NHS services and integrates with NHS 111 and NHS App platforms. The use of Adobe marketing tools indicates a mature digital marketing strategy aimed at improving user engagement and service delivery. The absence of direct contact details on the homepage suggests a centralized approach to user support via NHS services rather than direct company contacts. The website's enterprise scale and government backing provide strong competitive advantages and trust in the healthcare sector.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, cookie consent for analytics, and no visible exposure of sensitive data. However, the lack of explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options represents an area for improvement. No vulnerability disclosures or incident response contacts are published, which could enhance transparency and security readiness. The use of Adobe Target and Analytics is managed with user consent, aligning with GDPR compliance. Overall, the site is secure for public use but could benefit from enhanced security header implementation and published security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish comprehensive security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to strengthen browser security.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and user trust.
  3. Establish a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Enhance contact information availability for security and general inquiries to improve user support.
  5. Regularly review and update privacy and cookie policies to maintain compliance with evolving regulations.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
NHS
Description
Find information and services to help you manage your health.
Key services
Health A to Z information, NHS services directory, Healthy living advice, Mental health resources, Care and support information
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, Adobe Target, Adobe Analytics, NHS Cookie Consent, SVG graphics, CSS3, HTML5
Frameworks
NHS UK Frontend
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
excellent
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent with opt-in/out
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure form with search input

Analytics and tracking

Services
Adobe Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Adobe Target, Adobe Analytics
Marketing tools
Adobe Target, Adobe Analytics
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official NHS website for England with comprehensive health information.
  2. No signs of blocking or WAF interference.
  3. Strong privacy and cookie consent mechanisms.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage.
  5. Use of Adobe marketing and analytics tools with consent.
  6. No visible security headers in HTML but HTTPS enforced.
  7. WHOIS data unavailable due to registry restrictions.
Technical notes

Notes

The NHS website uses a modern tech stack with HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and SVG graphics for scalable visuals. It integrates Adobe Target and Adobe Analytics for marketing and user behavior analysis, controlled via cookie consent. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features, ensuring compliance with accessibility standards. Performance is moderate, likely due to rich content and external script loading. No CMS or hosting provider details are explicitly detected. The site could improve by adding explicit security headers and optimizing script loading for faster performance. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a robust, user-friendly, and secure public health information platform.
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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