Skip to main content

Security report for rcm.org.uk

Royal College of Midwives · Healthcare · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is a well-established professional organization and trade union dedicated to supporting midwifery professionals across the UK. Founded in 1997, the RCM provides membership services, professional development, policy advocacy, and workplace support. The website reflects a mature digital presence with a clear focus on healthcare and midwifery sectors, targeting professionals, students, and stakeholders in maternity services. The organization maintains a consistent brand and professional content quality, positioning itself as a trusted authority in its field. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using Elementor and Yoast SEO, indicating a modern and maintainable infrastructure. The site employs Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing, integrated with a cookie consent mechanism to comply with privacy regulations. Performance and mobile optimization are good, though accessibility could be improved. Hosting is provided by a reputable UK registrar, and the domain age supports the organization's credibility. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with good SSL configuration and implements cookie consent management. However, explicit security headers are not detected, and there is no visible security or incident response policy published. No vulnerabilities or suspicious content were found in the analysis. Privacy compliance is partial, with cookie consent but lacking a visible privacy policy or terms of service in the provided content. Overall, the RCM website presents a professional, secure, and credible digital presence suitable for its audience. Strategic improvements in security headers, privacy documentation, and accessibility would enhance trust and compliance further.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
73/ 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. 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"

    • 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 Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

  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

      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

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

Keep watching rcm.org.uk

This scan found 20 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.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
65
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
Average
71

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 Royal College of Midwives operates as a key professional body and trade union within the UK healthcare sector, specifically focusing on midwifery. Its business model centers on membership services, professional support, education, and policy advocacy. The organization benefits from a long-standing market presence since 1997, with a medium-sized operational scale. Its target customers include midwives, maternity support workers, students, and healthcare employers. The website links to partner organizations and trade union bodies, indicating a collaborative ecosystem. The RCM's strategic focus on quality, safety, and workforce development positions it competitively within healthcare professional organizations. Revenue streams likely include membership fees, training programs, and publications. The digital presence supports growth and engagement through learning platforms and campaign information.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security posture with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms in place. The use of Google Tag Manager is managed with consent propagation, reflecting awareness of privacy compliance. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options indicates room for improvement. No security or incident response policies are published, which could limit transparency and preparedness. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. The site uses standard WordPress plugins and frameworks, which require regular updates to mitigate risks. Overall, the security maturity is adequate for the organization's profile but would benefit from enhanced security controls and documented policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service to improve privacy compliance and user trust.
  2. Add security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to strengthen protection against common web attacks.
  3. Publish a security policy and incident response contact information to enhance transparency and readiness.
  4. Conduct regular security audits and update third-party plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Improve website accessibility to meet recognized standards and broaden user inclusivity.

Contact details published on the site

Legal name
Royal College of Midwives
Registration number
registration number 30157
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Royal College of Midwives
Description
A professional organisation and trade union dedicated to serving the whole midwifery team
Key services
Membership services, Professional support, Learning and career development, Policy and campaigns, Quality and safety advocacy
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Elementor, Yoast SEO, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Jet Plugins, Edwiser Bridge
Frameworks
Elementor
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management for cookies
  • Use of Google Tag Manager with consent propagation

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website uses WordPress with Elementor and Yoast SEO for content management and SEO.
  2. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented with granular consent options.
  3. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service found in the provided HTML content.
  4. Contact information is available via a contact page link and email link in header.
  5. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
  6. Website content is professional, relevant to midwifery and healthcare professionals.
  7. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
  8. Use of Google Tag Manager indicates tracking but with consent management.
  9. No visible security headers detected in provided data; recommend adding.
  10. WHOIS data supports legitimacy and long-term operation.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using the Elementor page builder and Yoast SEO plugin, indicating a modern and flexible content management system. It integrates Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing, with a cookie consent mechanism to manage user privacy preferences. The site loads multiple CSS and JavaScript assets including jQuery and various Jet plugins, which provide enhanced UI components and search functionality. Hosting is managed by Northway Communications Services (UK) Ltd, a reputable UK registrar. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization. Accessibility features are basic and could be improved. SEO is well supported through meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. The technical infrastructure is sound but could benefit from enhanced security headers and performance tuning.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with rcm.org.uk. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review rcm.org.uk.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.