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Is theengineer.co.uk a Scam? Security Check Results - Mark Allen Group Reviews

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Is theengineer.co.uk Safe? Security Analysis for Mark Allen Group

Check if theengineer.co.uk is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

MediaUnited Kingdommedium
jQuery 3.6.0Alpine.js 3.xGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Publisher Tags (GPT)Stripe.js+3 more
Analyzed 10/3/2025Completed 4:06:02 PM
70
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The Engineer is a reputable UK-based engineering news and media platform operated under the Mark Allen Group umbrella. It provides comprehensive engineering news, analysis, job listings, events, and magazine subscriptions targeting engineering professionals and students. The website demonstrates a modern technical infrastructure using technologies such as jQuery, Alpine.js, Google Tag Manager, and various advertising and tracking services. The site is well-designed, mobile-optimized, and offers clear navigation and relevant content. Security posture is moderate with HTTPS usage implied but lacks visible security headers and explicit privacy or cookie policies. WHOIS data is unavailable due to domain naming rules, indicating the domain is likely a subdomain or alias, which aligns with the professional branding and related domains. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professionally maintained but would benefit from enhanced privacy compliance and security header implementation.

Detected Technologies

jQuery 3.6.0Alpine.js 3.xGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Publisher Tags (GPT)Stripe.jsSwiper.jsBlueConicEBX CDN

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The Engineer holds a strong market position as a specialized engineering media outlet within the UK, supported by the Mark Allen Group. Its business model revolves around media publication, advertising, and subscription services. The platform serves a niche audience of engineering professionals, students, and industry stakeholders, offering sector-specific news and job opportunities. The presence of multiple related publications and subdomains indicates a well-established partnership ecosystem. Growth indicators include active content updates, special supplements, and salary surveys. The company leverages third-party advertising and marketing tools to monetize and engage its audience.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Physical Addresses (2)

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website employs HTTPS and integrates standard third-party scripts for analytics and advertising. However, the absence of visible security headers such as Content Security Policy, HSTS, or X-Frame-Options suggests room for improvement in hardening the site against common web threats. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The lack of explicit privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms indicates potential compliance gaps with GDPR and related regulations. Incident response and security contact information are not provided, which could hinder timely reporting and resolution of security issues. Overall, the security maturity is moderate but should be enhanced to meet best practices and regulatory requirements.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear GDPR compliance and user consent mechanisms.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Mark Allen Group

Description:

The Engineer is a UK-based engineering news and analysis platform providing the latest engineering news, analysis, and job opportunities across multiple engineering sectors.

Key Services:
Engineering news and analysisJob listingsEventsMagazine subscriptionsSpecial supplements and reports
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jQuery 3.6.0Alpine.js 3.xGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Publisher Tags (GPT)Stripe.jsSwiper.jsBlueConicEBX CDN
Frameworks:
Alpine.js
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
70/100
Best Practices:
  • Use of HTTPS (implied by canonical URL https://)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No visible vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Tag Manager
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:poor

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Google DoubleClickGoogle Ad Manager
Tracking Pixels:
BlueConic
Marketing Tools:
BlueConic
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:good
User Experience:good
Content Relevance:good
Navigation Clarity:good
Professionalism:good
Trustworthiness:high

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with rich content and navigation.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

80/100
Score

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

Sensitive data may be cached

LOW

Cache-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

68/100
Score

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy85% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

25/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

60/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 ip4:79.123.113.170 ip4:81.149.60.6 ip4:212.188.174.47 ip4:95.131.218.34 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:msgfocus.com include:spf.mandrillapp.com -all
DNS Lookups:3/10
Policy:-all
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:mark_allen_group@dmarc.postmastery.com
Forensic Reports:mark_allen_group@dmarc.postmastery.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

82/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Enabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

65/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Transfer Lock Not Enabled

MEDIUM

Domain can be transferred without authorization

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
28 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(658 days)
Protection Level
none
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • No domain protection locks enabled

DNS Records

A Records:212.188.174.43
Name Servers:
ns0.ukfast.netDNS only
ns1.ukfast.netDNS only
MX Records:
1: theengineer-co-uk.mail.protection.outlook.com
SOA:Serial: 2025072601, TTL: 600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:96ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:79.123.113.170 ip4:81.149.60.6 ip4:212.188.174.47 ip4:95.131.218.34 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:msgfocus.com include:spf.mandrillapp.com -all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website uses a modern tech stack including jQuery 3.6.0, Alpine.js, Google Tag Manager, and advertising technologies such as Google DoubleClick and BlueConic. The probable CMS is Umbraco, inferred from CSS paths. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and good SEO practices including meta tags and Open Graph data. Performance is moderate with asynchronous script loading and lazy loading of images. However, no hosting provider information or server-level security headers were available for analysis. The site architecture supports multiple related publications and subdomains, indicating a scalable and modular infrastructure. Opportunities exist to improve accessibility and security configurations to reduce technical risks.
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