Skip to main content

Security report for stmgroupplc.com

STM Group PLC · Finance · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

53/100

Risk levelMedium

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

STM Group PLC is a well-established multi-jurisdictional financial services group specializing in wealth preservation, retirement planning, estate and succession planning, and asset structuring for international clients. The company is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and was acquired by Global Pension Corporation in October 2024, strengthening its market position. Key services include international pensions, workplace pensions in the UK and Gibraltar, life assurance, and annuities. The target audience includes high-net-worth individuals, corporate institutions, and financial advisers. The website content is professional, well-structured, and consistent with the company's business model and market positioning. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including Yoast SEO, Contact Form 7, Google reCAPTCHA v3, and analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, and Smartlook. The site is mobile optimized and SEO friendly, though accessibility features are basic. Performance is moderate, with room for improvement in security headers and accessibility compliance. From a security perspective, the website uses HTTPS with valid certificates and implements Google reCAPTCHA on forms to prevent spam. The presence of a Cyber Essentials certification indicates a commitment to security best practices. However, some security headers are missing, and there is no explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure information. Privacy compliance is good, with a clear privacy policy, cookie consent mechanism, and GDPR indicators. Overall, STM Group PLC's website reflects a credible and professional financial services business with a solid technical foundation and reasonable security posture. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, improving accessibility, and adding incident response contact information to further strengthen trust and compliance.

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

5 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

  3. 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';…

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

Keep watching stmgroupplc.com

This scan found 21 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
0
Security headers
20
Email security
75
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
53

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

STM Group PLC operates in the competitive financial services sector, focusing on fiduciary and asset structuring services for international clients. Its acquisition by Global Pension Corporation suggests strategic growth and consolidation in the pensions and wealth management market. The company leverages partnerships and subsidiaries across Gibraltar, Malta, Spain, and the UK to provide localized services. Revenue streams likely include pension administration fees, life assurance products, and advisory services. The website targets financial advisers and high-net-worth clients, indicating a B2B and B2C hybrid model. The presence of regulatory compliance and certifications enhances market trust. The company’s digital presence supports its business model with product information, news updates, and contact channels, facilitating client engagement and lead generation.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security maturity level. HTTPS is enforced, and Google reCAPTCHA v3 protects forms against automated abuse. The Cyber Essentials certification is a positive indicator of baseline security controls. However, the absence of several key security headers (CSP, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options) represents a gap that could expose the site to clickjacking or MIME sniffing attacks. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms align with GDPR requirements, but no explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies were found. Overall, the security posture is adequate for the business type but could be improved with enhanced headers, documented incident response, and regular security audits.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Maintain up-to-date WordPress core and plugins to reduce vulnerability exposure.
  3. Add a dedicated incident response contact or security page to improve transparency and readiness.
  4. Enhance website accessibility to meet WCAG standards for broader compliance and user inclusivity.
  5. Conduct periodic penetration testing and vulnerability assessments to proactively identify and remediate security risks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
STM Group Ltd
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
STM Group PLC
Description
STM is a multi-jurisdictional financial services group listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Group specialises in the administration of assets for international clients in relation to retirement, estate and succession planning, and wealth structuring.
Key services
International pension services, Workplace pensions (UK and Gibraltar), Life assurance solutions, Annuities, Private medical insurance, Spanish legal services
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 5.1.19, Yoast SEO plugin, Contact Form 7, UberMenu, ConvertPlug, Download Monitor, Google reCAPTCHA v3, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, Smartlook
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA v3 on forms
  • Cookie consent banner implemented
  • Privacy policy and terms of service present
  • Cyber Essentials certification displayed

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, Smartlook
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Hotjar, Smartlook
Marketing tools
ConvertPlug
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well structured
  2. Content is relevant and targeted to financial services clients and advisers
  3. Multiple regulatory authorities referenced indicating compliance
  4. Use of modern tracking and analytics tools with privacy considerations
  5. Contact form uses Google reCAPTCHA v3 to prevent spam
  6. Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  7. No signs of blocking or WAF interference
  8. Cyber Essentials certification displayed indicating security awareness
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 5.1.19 with a range of plugins for SEO (Yoast), forms (Contact Form 7), menus (UberMenu), and marketing (ConvertPlug). It uses Google reCAPTCHA v3 for spam protection and integrates analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, and Smartlook for user behavior tracking. The site is moderately performant with some optimization (PageSpeed hints present). Mobile responsiveness is good, and SEO meta tags are well implemented. Hosting details are not explicit but likely a VPS or dedicated server. There is some technical debt indicated by older WordPress version and missing security headers. Overall, the infrastructure supports the business needs but would benefit from modernization 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 stmgroupplc.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 stmgroupplc.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.