In this section of the course, we'll focus on the process
of reporting a penetration testing.
Penetration test reporting is the final step
in the testing process, and is arguably the most important,
involving the detailed documentation of findings,
analysis of the root call, risk associated,
and the recommended remediations.
This report not only highlights the vulnerabilities,
but also guides the client through understanding
and prioritizing the actions
needed to secure the systems effectively.
The domain in this section
will be centered around Domain 1 Engagement Management.
Objective 1.2 states that we must be able
to explain collaboration and communication activities.
Objective 1.4 states that we must be able
to explain the components of a penetration test.
First, we'll kick things off by discussing
the executive summary process,
where you will learn how to condense
the findings of a penetration test
into a clear, concise, and compelling summary
that highlights the most critical issues
and the overall security posture of the organization.
Next, we'll cover root cause analysis.
This involves identifying the underlying reasons
for each vulnerability, which is especially important
for recommending effective remediations
and preventing similar vulnerabilities in the future.
Following that, report components will be discussed.
This lesson will outline the essential sections
of a penetration test report, including methodology,
findings, attack narratives, and recommendations.
Then, we'll move on to risk scoring and prioritization,
teaching you how to assign severity levels
to each finding based on its potential impact,
and exploitability, which helps clients
understand which things to fix first.
Definitions in the report will be discussed next.
This lesson will guide you on how to ensure
all terminology used is clearly defined,
so that the report is understandable
to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Limits and assumptions will be covered next,
focusing on clearly stating
what the testing parameters were, including the scope,
assumptions made during the testing,
and any constraints that could affect the findings.
Next, special considerations will be examined,
which involves discussing any unique aspects of the test,
such as reporting considerations,
secure distribution of the reports,
peer reviews, and client acceptance.
And lastly, a hands-on report analysis workshop
will provide practical experience
and analyze that penetration test results,
and crafting a well-structured report.
Finally, we'll take a short quiz to see
what you learned during this section of the course
and review each of those quiz questions fully
to ensure that you can explain
why the right answer is right.
If you're ready, let's begin our section
on penetration testing reporting.