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Security report for thefreelancefd.co.uk

The Freelance FD Ltd · Finance · United Kingdom

High risk. 9 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Network security and 2 other checks.

Security score

45/100

Risk levelHigh

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

The Freelance FD Ltd operates as a freelance finance director consultancy specializing in providing part-time financial leadership and CFO services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups, particularly in the UK market. The company targets fast-growing businesses needing flexible, high-level financial expertise without the commitment of full-time recruitment. Their service portfolio includes SME freelance finance, interim assignments, non-executive director roles, projects and investigations, education and training, and inward investment support. Technically, the website employs basic web technologies including jQuery 1.11.1, Spry MenuBar, and Google Fonts. The site is functional with good content quality and navigation but lacks modern security features such as HTTPS and security headers. Mobile optimization and accessibility are basic, and no advanced CMS or analytics tools are detected. From a security perspective, the absence of HTTPS and security headers, use of outdated JavaScript libraries, and lack of privacy or cookie policies indicate a low security posture. No forms or data collection mechanisms are present on the homepage, reducing immediate risk but also limiting user engagement. The WHOIS lookup failed due to domain naming rules violation, raising legitimacy concerns about the domain registration, though the website content appears professional and business-focused. Overall, the site presents a moderate risk profile with recommendations to implement HTTPS, update libraries, add privacy and cookie policies, and improve security headers to enhance trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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

9 findings 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

  2. Network security

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

    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • 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

  3. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

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

Keep watching thefreelancefd.co.uk

This scan found 26 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

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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
57
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
60
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
35
Average
45

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

The Freelance FD Ltd occupies a niche market segment providing freelance financial leadership to SMEs and startups, leveraging extensive board-level experience in both blue-chip and high-growth environments. Their business model focuses on flexible, part-time engagements, appealing to companies that require expert financial management without full-time hires. The company’s revenue streams likely derive from consulting fees, interim assignments, and training services. The target customer base includes UK SMEs, startups, and non-UK companies entering the UK market. The website content and service descriptions suggest a well-defined market positioning with competitive advantages in flexibility and expertise. However, the lack of digital marketing tools and social media presence may limit growth potential. The absence of WHOIS data and domain registration irregularities could impact credibility and trust with prospective clients.

Security posture

The current security posture is weak due to the lack of HTTPS, absence of security headers, and use of outdated JavaScript libraries. No privacy or cookie policies are present, indicating non-compliance with GDPR and related regulations. The site does not appear to collect personal data via forms, which reduces exposure but also limits user interaction. No incident response or security policy information is available. The WHOIS failure and domain registration issues further complicate trust assessments. To improve security maturity, the company should prioritize implementing SSL/TLS, updating all libraries, adding security headers, and publishing privacy and cookie policies. Establishing incident response contacts and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms would also enhance security readiness.

Recommendations

  1. Implement HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate to secure all website traffic.
  2. Update JavaScript libraries, especially jQuery, to current supported versions to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  3. Add comprehensive privacy and cookie policies to comply with GDPR and enhance user trust.
  4. Introduce security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  5. Establish clear contact channels for security incidents and vulnerability disclosures.

Contact details published on the site

Legal name
The Freelance FD Ltd
Registration number
5893511
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Freelance FD Ltd
Description
Freelance Finance Director specialising in small, medium businesses and enterprises. Provides part-time Finance Director or CFO services to SMEs and start-ups, offering flexible, affordable financial management expertise.
Key services
SME Freelance Finance, Interim Assignments, Non-executive Director, Projects & Investigations, Education & Training, Inward Investment
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 1.11.1, Spry MenuBar, Google Fonts (Scada), HTML5, CSS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
30/100

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website content is accessible and professional
  2. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found
  3. No contact email addresses found; only phone numbers provided
  4. No security headers or HTTPS status available from provided data
  5. WHOIS data unavailable and domain appears invalid per registry
  6. Site uses outdated jQuery version
  7. No analytics or tracking scripts detected
  8. No social media links present
  9. No forms detected on the homepage HTML content
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses legacy technologies including jQuery 1.11.1 and Spry MenuBar, which are outdated and may pose security risks. The site is built with static HTML and CSS, with no detected CMS or modern frameworks. Performance is moderate with basic mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is basic, with meta description and keywords present but no advanced structured data or Open Graph tags. Hosting provider and SSL status are unknown due to lack of headers and WHOIS data. The site lacks analytics and tracking tools, indicating minimal data collection. Technical debt is evident in outdated scripts and missing security best practices, suggesting opportunities for modernization and improved resilience.
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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