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Security report for thefranchiseco.gr

The Franchise Co · Retail · Greece

High risk. 13 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

28/100

Risk levelHigh

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

The Franchise Co is a well-established franchise consulting company operating primarily in Greece and Cyprus since 1996. It offers a comprehensive range of services including franchise consulting, network development, management consulting, master franchise, and support for international systems and subsidized programs. The company positions itself as the largest franchise consulting firm in its region, serving a broad audience of businesses interested in franchising. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and various optimization plugins. The site is moderately performant, mobile-optimized, and SEO-friendly with structured data implemented. Security posture is good with HTTPS enabled and no critical vulnerabilities detected, though some security headers are missing and no explicit incident response or security policy pages are found. Privacy compliance is basic, lacking explicit privacy and cookie policies or consent mechanisms. Overall, the website is professional and trustworthy, with clear contact information and active social media presence.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
0/ 100 · Critical
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

13 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

      EU business without adequate privacy measures

      EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

      What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures

    • 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. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

      Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MySQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection
    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: PostgreSQL

      Port 5432 (PostgreSQL) is publicly accessible - PostgreSQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to PostgreSQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

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

Keep watching thefranchiseco.gr

This scan found 25 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
0
Security headers
20
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
0
Average
28

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 · found on this site
  • 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 Franchise Co holds a strong market position as a leader in franchise consulting in Greece and Cyprus, leveraging over two decades of experience. Its business model focuses on providing expert consulting services to franchisors and franchisees, supporting network growth and management. The company maintains a rich content ecosystem with articles, success stories, and educational resources, enhancing its credibility and engagement with target customers. Partnerships with related domains like franchiseportal.gr indicate a collaborative ecosystem. The company targets businesses seeking franchise development and expansion, offering tailored services and strategic insights. The presence of multiple franchise brands and case studies on the site reflects a diverse portfolio and active market engagement.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS enabled and use of advanced tracking pixels with privacy features. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options reduces defense-in-depth. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Forms appear to be standard with no visible security issues, but no explicit security or incident response policies are published. GDPR compliance is partial, with some indicators in tracking scripts but no clear privacy or cookie policies. Overall, the site is secure but could improve by implementing additional security headers and formalizing security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy page detailing data collection, usage, and user rights to improve privacy compliance.
  2. Implement a cookie policy and consent mechanism to comply with GDPR and enhance user trust.
  3. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen security posture.
  4. Create and publish an incident response policy with dedicated contact channels (e.g., security@ or abuse@) for vulnerability reporting.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and plugins to mitigate potential vulnerabilities and improve performance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
BRAINWAY SA
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Franchise Co
Description
Σύμβουλοι Franchise & Ανάπτυξης Δικτύων: The Franchise Co Η Μεγαλύτερη Εταιρεία Συμβούλων Franchise σε Ελλάδα & Κύπρο από το 1996. 320 Δίκτυα, 4.700 Καταστήματα
Key services
Franchise consulting, Network development, Management consulting, Master franchise, International systems, Subsidized programs
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, YouTube API, Slider Revolution, WPBakery Page Builder, PixelYourSite PRO, SiteGround Optimizer, MediaElement.js
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Use of Facebook Pixel with advanced matching
  • Google Ads conversion tracking
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ads, DoubleClick
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
PixelYourSite PRO
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional franchise consulting company with extensive content and services
  2. Content is primarily in Greek with some English elements
  3. No privacy or cookie policy pages explicitly found
  4. Contact information is clearly provided in footer
  5. Use of multiple tracking and marketing scripts with some GDPR compliance features
  6. No critical security issues detected
  7. Good use of structured data for SEO and business information
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with a modern and diverse technology stack including jQuery, Slider Revolution, WPBakery Page Builder, and various optimization and tracking plugins. It uses Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Facebook Pixel for analytics and marketing. The site is hosted likely on SiteGround, inferred from the SiteGround Optimizer plugin. Performance is moderate with lazy loading and caching optimizations. The site is mobile responsive and SEO optimized with proper meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). Accessibility is basic but could be improved. No critical technical issues or broken elements were detected. Opportunities exist to enhance security headers and privacy compliance for better technical maturity.
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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