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Security report for thebestof.co.uk

thebestof UK · Retail · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Thebestof UK operates as a local business directory and community platform showcasing trusted businesses, events, offers, and reviews across the United Kingdom. The website targets local consumers and businesses seeking reliable local information and services. Its business model revolves around providing a comprehensive guide and community engagement platform for local commerce and events. The market position is that of an established and recognized UK local business directory with a medium-sized operational scale. Technically, the website employs a modern technology stack including Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Maps API, and Google reCAPTCHA for spam protection. The site is served over HTTPS and includes responsive design elements, ensuring good mobile optimization and user experience. However, some accessibility features are basic, and there is room for improvement in security headers and privacy compliance. From a security perspective, the site benefits from HTTPS and anti-bot measures but lacks explicit security headers and published vulnerability disclosure policies. No critical vulnerabilities were detected in the provided content. The absence of privacy and cookie policies, as well as WHOIS data, reduces the overall trust and compliance posture. The domain WHOIS lookup failed due to domain naming rules, limiting the ability to verify domain registration legitimacy. Overall, thebestof.co.uk presents a professional and trustworthy platform for local UK businesses and consumers, but it should enhance its privacy compliance, security headers, and domain registration transparency to improve trust and regulatory adherence.

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

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 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"

  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.

    • 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 thebestof.co.uk

This scan found 22 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
62
Security headers
35
Email security
75
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
Average
70

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

Thebestof UK serves as a key player in the UK local business directory sector, providing a platform for businesses to list themselves and for consumers to find trusted local services and events. Its competitive advantage lies in its comprehensive local coverage and community-driven content such as reviews and recommendations. Revenue streams likely include business memberships, advertising, and promotional offers. The target customer segments include local consumers, small to medium businesses, and event organizers. The partnership ecosystem includes integrations with Google services for analytics and maps. Strategic observations suggest focusing on enhancing privacy and security compliance to maintain market trust and regulatory alignment.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and use of Google reCAPTCHA to protect forms. However, the lack of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and HSTS reduces its defense-in-depth. No explicit incident response or security contact information is provided, and no vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file is found. Compliance with GDPR is not clearly demonstrated due to missing privacy and cookie policies. The security culture appears functional but could benefit from formalized policies and transparency to improve readiness and user trust.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear GDPR compliance and user consent mechanisms.
  2. Add and configure security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-XSS-Protection, and HSTS.
  3. Publish a security.txt file and establish a vulnerability disclosure program to improve transparency and incident response.
  4. Provide explicit contact information for data protection officer and security incident reporting.
  5. Improve accessibility features and conduct regular security audits to identify and remediate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
thebestof UK
Description
thebestof UK showcases thebest of everything; events, offers, reviews and trusted local businesses.
Key services
Business guide, A-Z business listings, Event listings, Offers and reviews, Local area information
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Analytics, Google reCAPTCHA, Google Maps API, AddThis sharing, Google Tag Manager, Picturefill polyfill
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA on forms

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Tracking pixels
AddThis
Marketing tools
AddThis
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a UK local business directory with event and offer listings.
  2. No WHOIS data available due to domain naming rules error.
  3. No explicit privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found in provided HTML snippet.
  4. Contact is primarily via modal contact forms, no explicit emails or phone numbers found.
  5. Uses Google services extensively for analytics, maps, and spam protection.
  6. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  7. No explicit data protection officer or incident response contact information found.
  8. Website is accessible without WAF or blocking mechanisms.
  9. Content is safe for general audiences with no adult or NSFW content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack heavily reliant on Google services for analytics, maps, and spam protection. The HTML structure is valid with proper meta tags for SEO and social sharing (Open Graph). Performance is moderate with asynchronous loading of scripts and use of polyfills for browser compatibility. Mobile optimization is good with responsive design elements. However, the CMS or hosting provider is not explicitly identified. Technical debt is low based on available data, but improvements in security headers and privacy compliance are recommended to reduce risk and enhance user trust.
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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