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Security report for thehughesconsultancy.co.uk

The Hughes Consultancy · Finance · United Kingdom

High risk. 6 critical or high findings in Network security, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

The Hughes Consultancy is a professional accountancy and business advisory firm based in Richmond, Surrey, serving a diverse client base including small to medium businesses across multiple sectors such as media, recruitment, property, construction, charity, education, IT, retail, hospitality, travel, and healthcare. The firm positions itself as a local trusted advisor with a focus on compliance, tax minimization, and business growth strategies. Their key services include accountancy, tax planning, financial planning, and business advisory, targeting business owners and individuals primarily in the UK market. Technically, the website employs a straightforward technology stack with jQuery and bxSlider for UI elements, Google Fonts for typography, and a custom cookie consent mechanism. The site is moderately optimized for performance and mobile use, with basic SEO and accessibility features. No advanced CMS or hosting details are evident, and no analytics or tracking scripts beyond a newsletter signup form are detected, indicating a privacy-conscious approach. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS (assumed from context though not explicitly confirmed), implements cookie consent, and obfuscates email addresses to reduce spam. However, there is a lack of visible security headers and no published security or incident response policies, which could be improved. The WHOIS lookup failed due to querying a subdomain rather than the registered domain, raising minor concerns about domain registration transparency but not necessarily about business legitimacy. Overall, the website presents a professional and trustworthy image with good business credibility and privacy compliance. The main risks relate to limited visible security controls and incomplete WHOIS data. Strategic improvements in security posture and domain registration clarity would enhance trust and resilience.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  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

  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';…

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
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  • 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
20
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
68
Average
49

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 Hughes Consultancy operates as a small-sized professional services firm specializing in accountancy and business advisory within the UK, particularly Richmond and greater London. Their competitive advantage lies in their local presence, ICAEW certification, and broad sector expertise. Revenue streams likely derive from accounting, tax, and advisory fees. The target customers are owner-managed businesses, contractors, freelancers, and individuals seeking financial planning and compliance services. The firm maintains a clean digital footprint with minimal tracking and no advertising, focusing on organic client engagement. Partnerships or subsidiaries are not evident, indicating a focused standalone operation. Growth indicators include a comprehensive service offering and active social media presence. The company registration and physical address provide legitimacy and regulatory compliance.

Security posture

The current security maturity level is moderate. The website uses HTTPS and has a cookie consent mechanism, which supports privacy compliance. Email obfuscation reduces spam risk. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security reduces defense-in-depth. No incident response or security policy information is published, limiting transparency and preparedness signals. The use of older jQuery version 2.2.4 may pose vulnerabilities if not patched. No analytics or third-party trackers reduce exposure to privacy risks. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a small professional services website but would benefit from enhanced headers, updated libraries, and published security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive HTTP security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  2. Update JavaScript libraries to latest secure versions to mitigate known vulnerabilities.
  3. Publish explicit security and incident response policies to improve transparency and trust.
  4. Enhance mobile responsiveness and accessibility to improve user experience and compliance.
  5. Clarify domain registration details and ensure WHOIS queries target the registered domain to improve legitimacy perception.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
THC Accountancy Services Limited
Registration number
08931770
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Hughes Consultancy
Description
The Hughes Consultancy is an established firm of Chartered Accountants based in Richmond, Surrey, providing accountancy and business advisory services to local, national, and international businesses across various sectors including media, recruitment, property lettings, construction, charity, education, IT, security, retail, hospitality, travel, and healthcare.
Key services
accountancy, tax planning, business advisory, financial planning, business growth support
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 2.2.4, bxSlider, Google Fonts (Open Sans)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
60/100
Good practices seen
  • cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • email obfuscation via base64 encoding in footer

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
Websmiths Email Marketer
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF detected.
  2. WHOIS lookup failed due to querying a subdomain rather than the registered domain.
  3. Website content is professional and targeted at business clients in Richmond, Surrey.
  4. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented with clear user choice.
  5. No explicit security policy or incident response information found.
  6. Certifications include ICAEW membership indicating professional standards.
  7. Contact information is complete and includes phone, email, physical address, and contact forms.
  8. No analytics scripts detected; minimal user tracking.
  9. No advertising or affiliate programs detected.
  10. Technical stack is basic but functional with jQuery and bxSlider.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a simple but effective technical stack centered on jQuery 2.2.4 and bxSlider for interactive elements, with Google Fonts for typography. The site uses custom CSS and JavaScript files loaded with defer attributes to optimize rendering. No CMS or hosting provider information is detectable. Performance is moderate with no advanced optimization techniques evident. SEO is basic with meta keywords and description tags but no Open Graph or JSON-LD structured data present. Accessibility features are minimal but include some equal height scripts and basic ARIA roles. The site lacks modern frameworks or platforms and could benefit from modernization to improve maintainability and performance.
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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