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Security report for wjtownsendandson.co.uk

W J Townsend & Son · Energy · United Kingdom

High risk. 10 critical or high findings in Network security, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

42/100

Risk levelHigh

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

W J Townsend & Son is a small, family-run business specializing in oil boiler repairs, servicing, replacements, and general plumbing services primarily serving Northamptonshire and surrounding counties in the UK. Established since 1945, the company emphasizes prompt, friendly, and honest service, supported by certifications such as Oftec and a VAT registration. The website reflects a professional local service provider with clear contact information and a focus on customer trust through testimonials and detailed service descriptions. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with common plugins like Yoast SEO and Jetpack, using Bootstrap for responsive design. The site is moderately performant and well-structured with good SEO practices but lacks advanced accessibility features and security headers. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS enabled and no visible vulnerabilities, but the absence of security headers and privacy/cookie policies indicates room for improvement. The WHOIS data is unavailable due to a domain naming rules violation error from Nominet UK, which is unusual and raises questions about domain registration legitimacy despite the professional website content. Overall, the website is trustworthy and functional but would benefit from enhanced privacy compliance and security hardening.

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

10 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.

    • 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
    • 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. 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

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

Keep watching wjtownsendandson.co.uk

This scan found 28 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

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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
0
GDPR outside view
35
Average
42

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 company operates in the energy sector focusing on oil heating systems and plumbing services. Its market position is that of a trusted local specialist with a long family history, which provides a competitive advantage in customer loyalty and reputation. The business model is service-oriented, relying on direct customer engagement and local presence. Revenue streams likely come from repair, servicing contracts, replacements, and installations including solar thermal systems. The target customers are homeowners and businesses in Northamptonshire and nearby areas. The website supports growth through clear service offerings and testimonials but lacks advanced digital marketing or e-commerce capabilities. Partnerships or subsidiaries are not evident, and the company maintains a focused niche. The presence of VAT and Oftec certification adds credibility. The company could enhance its digital footprint by adding privacy policies and incident response information to align with regulatory expectations.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a basic to moderate security maturity level. HTTPS is properly implemented, ensuring encrypted communications. However, the absence of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options reduces protection against common web attacks. No forms are present on the homepage, minimizing attack surface, but the lack of a published security policy or incident response contact limits transparency and preparedness. Privacy compliance is weak, with no visible cookie consent or privacy policy, which could expose the business to GDPR compliance risks. The WHOIS data anomaly is a concern for domain legitimacy but does not directly impact website security. Overall, the security posture is functional but requires enhancements in policy publication, header implementation, and vulnerability disclosure to improve resilience and trust.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with user consent mechanisms to ensure GDPR compliance.
  2. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against web vulnerabilities.
  3. Create and publish a security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  4. Regularly audit and update WordPress core, themes, and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities and maintain security hygiene.
  5. Investigate and resolve the domain WHOIS registration anomaly to improve domain legitimacy and trustworthiness.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
W J Townsend & Son
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
W J Townsend & Son
Description
W.J Townsend & Son specialise in oil boiler repairs, servicing and replacements. They also carry out all aspects of general plumbing.
Key services
Oil Boiler Repairs, Servicing and Replacements, Solar Thermal Installations, General Plumbing
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 5.9.13, Yoast SEO plugin, jQuery, Bootstrap 4.1.0, Flexslider, FontAwesome, Jetpack
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Jetpack Stats
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Jetpack Stats
Marketing tools
Google Site Kit
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 challenges.
  2. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found on the site.
  3. Contact information is clearly presented with phone, email, and physical address.
  4. Site uses HTTPS with valid SSL certificate.
  5. No security headers detected in provided data.
  6. No forms detected on the homepage HTML content.
  7. Social media presence limited to Facebook page linked in JSON-LD.
  8. Website built on WordPress with common plugins and libraries.
  9. Tracking includes Google Analytics and Jetpack Stats without visible cookie consent.
  10. WHOIS data is missing or blocked due to domain naming rules violation, which is unusual and suspicious.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using version 5.9.13, leveraging popular plugins such as Yoast SEO for search optimization and Jetpack for site stats and performance enhancements. The front-end uses Bootstrap 4.1.0 for responsive design and jQuery for scripting, along with Flexslider and FontAwesome for UI components. The site loads external resources from reputable CDNs including Cloudflare, MaxCDN, and unpkg. Performance is moderate with no evident blocking or errors, and mobile optimization is good due to Bootstrap usage. Accessibility is basic, with scope for improvement in ARIA roles and semantic markup. SEO is well addressed with meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data for organization and webpage schema. Hosting provider details are not explicitly found. The site lacks advanced security headers and privacy compliance features, which are technical debt areas to address for modernization and regulatory alignment.
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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