Is nationalarchives.gov.uk Safe? Security Analysis for The National Archives
Check if nationalarchives.gov.uk is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
The National Archives is the official UK government archive and publisher for England and Wales, providing access to over 1,000 years of historical government records. It serves a broad audience including researchers, students, government officials, and the general public interested in UK history. The organization operates as a non-ministerial government department, offering services such as record preservation, research assistance, educational resources, exhibitions, and professional guidance in information management. The website reflects its authoritative position with consistent branding, comprehensive content, and clear navigation. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern but somewhat legacy technology stack including jQuery 1.11.3 and Modernizr. It employs SEO best practices via the Yoast SEO plugin and includes cookie consent mechanisms compliant with GDPR. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good performance and SEO scores. Hosting details are not explicit, but HTTPS is enforced, ensuring secure communications. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good practices such as HTTPS enforcement and cookie consent management. However, no explicit security headers were detected in the HTML, and the use of an older jQuery version could pose potential risks. There is no publicly visible security policy or incident response contact, and no security.txt file was found. The WHOIS data is unavailable, likely due to privacy protections common for government domains, but the domain's .gov.uk TLD and content strongly support legitimacy. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and secure with minor areas for improvement in security header implementation and technology updates. It poses low risk and effectively serves its government archival mission.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
The National Archives holds a unique market position as the official UK government archive, providing authoritative access to government records and historical documents. Its competitive advantage lies in its official status, extensive archival collections, and comprehensive public services including research support and educational outreach. The business model is public service-oriented, funded and operated by the government, focusing on preservation, access, and information management standards. Revenue streams may include merchandise sales via the official shop and event participation. The target customer segments include academics, historians, educators, government employees, and the general public. The organization maintains a strong partnership ecosystem with related entities such as the National Archives Trust and Friends of The National Archives. Strategic observations highlight a focus on digital accessibility, public engagement, and maintaining authoritative archival standards.
Extracted Contact Information
Marketing Intelligence Data
Phone Numbers (1)
Physical Addresses (1)
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The National Archives website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR. The absence of visible security headers like Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options suggests room for enhancement. The use of an older jQuery version (1.11.3) could expose the site to known vulnerabilities if not properly mitigated. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact limits transparency in security governance. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure program was found, which could improve responsible vulnerability reporting. Overall, the site is secure for general public use but would benefit from modernizing libraries, implementing security headers, and publishing security governance documentation.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
The National Archives
We are a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
good
good
excellent
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced (implied by https URLs)
- Cookie consent banner with accept/reject options
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- No vulnerable libraries detected in scripts
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Official UK government website with comprehensive archival and research resources
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration
LOWCurrent value: "max-age=604800, includeSubDomains"
Missing X-Frame-Options header
HIGHPrevents clickjacking attacks
Missing X-Content-Type-Options header
MEDIUMPrevents MIME type sniffing
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
Missing X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
Weak Referrer-Policy configuration
LOWCurrent value: "no-referrer-when-downgrade"
Missing Permissions-Policy header
MEDIUMControls browser features and APIs
Sensitive data may be cached
LOWCache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages
👤GDPR Compliance
Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.
GDPR Compliance
Privacy and data protection assessment
No Data Protection Officer mentioned
LOWLarge organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR
Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant
MEDIUMPrivacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements
GDPR Compliance Analysis
🛡️NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.
NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive
No information security framework found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures
No vulnerability disclosure policy
MEDIUMNIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure
No security policy documentation found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management
No incident response procedures found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans
No business continuity planning found
MEDIUMNIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity
No security contact information
HIGHNIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels
No vulnerability reporting mechanism
MEDIUMClear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure
No NIS2 reference found
LOWConsider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
Complex SPF record
LOWToo many include statements can cause lookup limits
No BIMI Record
LOWBIMI displays brand logos in email clients
SPF Details
DKIM Selectors Found
DMARC Details
MTA-STS Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
Weak Protocols Supported
HIGHServer supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1
Certificate Transparency Not Implemented
LOWCertificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs
Mixed Content Detected
MEDIUM1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Protocol Support
OCSP Status
📊DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment.
DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment
DNSSEC Not Enabled
MEDIUMDNSSEC is not configured for this domain
Domain Transfer Lock Not Enabled
MEDIUMDomain can be transferred without authorization
Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled
LOWDomain can be deleted without additional verification
Domain Registration Details
- •No domain protection locks enabled
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
DNS Performance
SPF Analysis
⚡Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis.
Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis
Good Network Security Posture
LOWNo unnecessary services detected on common risky ports
🔧Technical Analysis
Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.
Technical Analysis
Comprehensive security assessment findings