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Security report for npsa.gov.uk

National Protective Security Authority · Government · United Kingdom

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

81/100

Risk levelLow

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

The National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) is the UK government's National Technical Authority for physical and personnel protective security, operating as part of MI5. The website serves as a comprehensive resource offering guidance, tools, and risk management information targeted at security professionals, government entities, industry sectors, and high-risk individuals. It holds a strong market position as an authoritative government agency providing protective security expertise. Technically, the website is built on Drupal CMS with modern JavaScript libraries and integrates analytics and tracking tools such as Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, and LinkedIn Insight. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and implements cookie consent mechanisms, though it lacks explicit security headers and a public security policy or incident response contact. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy compliance is robust with clear privacy and cookie policies aligned with GDPR requirements. Overall, the website presents a low risk profile with strong trust indicators including official UK government domain usage, Crown copyright, and consistent branding. The absence of WHOIS data is typical for government domains and does not detract from legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing a security policy, and providing clear incident response contacts to further strengthen security posture.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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';…

  2. 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

  3. 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

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 12 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates

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Keep watching npsa.gov.uk

This scan found 16 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
85
Security headers
65
Email security
88
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
81

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

NPSA operates as a government agency under MI5, focusing on protective security across multiple sectors including critical national infrastructure, government, industry, and high-risk individuals. Its business model centers on providing authoritative guidance, risk management frameworks, and specialized security resources. The website's content and structure indicate a well-established presence with a medium-sized operational scope. Partnerships are evident through social media channels but no explicit commercial partnerships or subsidiaries are listed. The agency's role as a national authority positions it uniquely in the UK security landscape, with a focus on resilience against terrorism and state threats.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS and cookie consent compliance. The use of modern analytics and tracking tools is balanced with privacy controls. However, the absence 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 vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the HTML content. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact limits transparency in security governance. Overall, the site is secure but could enhance defenses and communication regarding security incidents.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.
  2. Publish a clear security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and user trust.
  3. Provide explicit contact information for reporting security incidents or vulnerabilities, including a security@ or abuse@ email address.
  4. Consider publishing a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  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
National Protective Security Authority
Description
National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) - the UK government’s National Technical Authority for physical and personnel protective security.
Key services
Protective security guidance, Risk management, Threat information, Specialised security guidance, Tools and resources for security practitioners
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal CMS, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Google Charts, Civic Cookie Control
Frameworks
Drupal 10
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of modern libraries and scripts

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Hotjar, LinkedIn Insight
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Google Analytics (via GTM)
Marketing tools
Hotjar
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official UK government website for National Protective Security Authority
  2. Comprehensive security and protective guidance content
  3. Strong privacy and cookie compliance mechanisms
  4. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly listed in HTML content
  5. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools
  6. No signs of malicious or suspicious content
  7. WHOIS data unavailable, likely due to .gov.uk domain privacy policies
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal 10 CMS, leveraging jQuery and various third-party libraries for UI and analytics. It integrates Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, and LinkedIn Insight for tracking and marketing analytics. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features such as screen-reader support. Performance is moderate, with potential for improvement through optimization of external scripts and caching. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, supporting a professional and user-friendly 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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