Skip to main content

Security report for reedglobal.com

REED · Other · United Kingdom

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

Security score

66/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Reed is a well-established UK-based specialist recruitment company with over 65 years of experience, offering comprehensive recruitment services across 20 sectors including finance, education, healthcare, and technology. The company maintains a strong market position as the UK's leading specialist recruitment firm, supported by a large candidate database and positive client testimonials. Technically, the website is built on modern frameworks such as Next.js and React, integrated with Contentful CMS, and employs advanced tools for accessibility and consent management. Security posture is robust with HTTPS, security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities, although no explicit security or incident response policies were found. Overall, the site demonstrates high professionalism, excellent content quality, and strong privacy compliance, making it a trustworthy platform for both employers and candidates.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

  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.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

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

Keep watching reedglobal.com

This scan found 14 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. See sample alerts.

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
0
Security headers
75
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
66

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

Reed operates a multi-faceted recruitment business model, targeting both employers and job seekers with tailored services including permanent, temporary, and executive search recruitment. The company leverages a broad sector expertise and a national network of offices to provide localized market intelligence and recruitment solutions. Their digital presence is enhanced by rich content such as case studies, salary guides, webinars, and AI-powered tools like an interview question generator. Reed's ecosystem includes multiple subsidiaries and partnerships, reinforcing its market reach and service diversity. The company’s strategic focus on innovation, client service, and comprehensive sector coverage positions it strongly within the UK recruitment industry.

Security posture

The website employs strong security measures including enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options, etc.), and cookie consent management via Cookiebot. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of a publicly available security policy or incident response information suggests an area for improvement. The site uses third-party scripts for analytics and marketing, but these are managed with user consent mechanisms. Overall, the security posture is solid, supporting user trust and data protection, but could benefit from enhanced transparency regarding security governance and incident handling.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response plan to enhance transparency and user trust.
  2. Implement a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and scripts to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance data retention policy disclosures to align with GDPR and best privacy practices.
  5. Continue to improve accessibility features and conduct periodic accessibility audits.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
REED
Description
Reed is a UK-based specialist recruitment company with over 65 years of experience, providing recruitment services across 20 sectors including accountancy & finance, education, health & care, technology, and more. They offer permanent, temporary, interim, and executive search recruitment solutions, along with learning and development services.
Key services
Permanent recruitment, Temporary & interim recruitment, Senior & executive search, Global recruitment solutions, Pre-employment screening, HR consultancy, Project delivery, Employee wellbeing, Learning & development, Apprenticeships
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, Google Tag Manager, Vidyard video player, UserWay accessibility widget, Cookiebot consent management
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Contentful CMS
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • Cookie consent management
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of accessibility widget

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager, HubSpot
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Cookiebot
Marketing tools
HubSpot (hubspot.com), Vidyard, UserWay
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and multiple sections.
  2. Strong focus on recruitment services across multiple sectors.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent management.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and accessibility tools.
  5. Presence of detailed case studies and client testimonials.
  6. Active social media presence with verified accounts.
  7. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  8. Multiple contact methods including forms, emails, and phone numbers.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using Next.js and React, leveraging Contentful as the CMS for content management. It integrates Google Tag Manager for analytics, Cookiebot for consent management, and UserWay for accessibility enhancements. The site is optimized for mobile devices with responsive images and layouts. Performance indicators suggest fast loading times and efficient resource management. The use of modern JavaScript frameworks and structured data (JSON-LD) supports SEO and rich search results. No technical debt or major risks were identified, though continuous monitoring and updates are recommended to maintain technical excellence.
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 reedglobal.com. 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 reedglobal.com.

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.