Skip to main content

Security report for sfa-oxford.com

SFA (Oxford) · Energy · United Kingdom

Low risk. 1 critical or high finding in SSL/TLS.

Security score

84/100

Risk levelLow

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

SFA (Oxford) is a specialized consulting firm providing bespoke market intelligence and research services focused on critical metals, battery materials, green hydrogen, and fuel cells. The company positions itself as a leading value chain consultancy with a strong track record and a global client base including miners, processors, fabricators, end-users, investors, and recyclers. Their offerings include detailed market reports, consulting solutions, and industry events, supported by a professional and content-rich website. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Bootstrap, JavaScript libraries, and integrates multiple analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics, HubSpot, and LinkedIn Insight. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, providing a good user experience with clear navigation and professional design. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS and implements cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR requirements. However, it lacks visible security headers and dedicated security or incident response policies, which are areas for improvement. The absence of WHOIS domain registration data raises some concerns about domain legitimacy and registration transparency, although the website content and business information appear professional and trustworthy. Overall, the website demonstrates a mature digital presence with strong content and marketing practices but could enhance its security posture and transparency regarding domain registration to improve trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 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

1 finding 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

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

Keep watching sfa-oxford.com

This scan found 15 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
72
Security headers
85
Email security
80
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
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

SFA (Oxford) operates in the energy and transport sectors, focusing on critical metals and sustainable technologies. Their business model revolves around providing consulting and market research services to a diverse set of stakeholders across the value chain. The company leverages its expertise and industry relationships to deliver detailed market outlooks and bespoke consulting solutions. Their hosting of industry events and publication of market reports indicate active engagement with the market and thought leadership. The firm targets professionals, investors, and companies involved in mining, processing, fabrication, and recycling of critical metals, positioning itself as a key player in the energy transition ecosystem.

Security posture

The website exhibits a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent implemented, reflecting compliance with basic privacy regulations. However, the lack of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and absence of a public security policy or incident response information indicate gaps in security best practices. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The missing WHOIS data for the domain is a notable concern, potentially impacting trustworthiness. Overall, while the site is secure for general use, improvements in transparency and security controls are recommended to enhance resilience and compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Implement standard security headers (CSP, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options) to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Verify and publish domain registration details to enhance trust and legitimacy perception.
  4. Conduct regular security audits to identify and remediate potential vulnerabilities.
  5. Maintain and update privacy and cookie policies to ensure ongoing GDPR compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
SFA (Oxford) Ltd
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
SFA (Oxford)
Description
SFA (Oxford) provides bespoke consulting and research services in industries using Platinum Group Metals, Battery Metals and Materials, Green Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.
Key services
consulting, market research, industry insights, event hosting
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, Bootstrap, Tiny Slider, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, HubSpot, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Polyfill.io, Clip-path polyfill
Frameworks
Bootstrap
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

Analytics and tracking

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

Advertising

Tracking pixels
HubSpot, LinkedIn Insight
Marketing tools
HubSpot
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 multimedia
  2. Professional consulting firm focused on critical metals and energy transition
  3. Strong presence of market reports, events, and insights
  4. Cookie consent and privacy policy implemented with GDPR compliance
  5. No visible security policy or incident response information
  6. WHOIS data missing or domain not found in public WHOIS database
  7. Use of multiple third-party analytics and marketing tools
  8. No signs of adult or unsafe content
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern tech stack including Bootstrap for responsive design, JavaScript libraries for UI components, and integrates multiple third-party analytics and marketing tools. The site loads multimedia content such as videos and images efficiently with lazy loading techniques. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. Accessibility features are present, and SEO meta tags are well implemented. No CMS was explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or static site architecture. Hosting provider details are not evident from the content. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a professional and user-friendly experience but could benefit from performance tuning and enhanced security configurations.
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 sfa-oxford.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 sfa-oxford.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.