How To Write Powerful Executive Reports in Infosec

Name: How To Write Powerful Executive Reports in Infosec
Rating: 3.8 (33 reviews)

Learn how to write professional, executive reports that command management action.

Created byCharles Chibueze

Last updated 9/2019

English

What you'll learn

You'll learn the elements of a professional executive report
You'll learn what executives love to see in a report
You'll learn what disgusts and irritates executives in a report
You'll learn how to follow a structured approach using DIKW in crafting content for executive reports
You'll learn how to fit your report in one page
You'll learn how to professionally construct the appendix section of your executive report
You'll learn how to extract the key findings from your assessment and present it to executives
You'll learn what makes your report powerful
You'll learn how to separate the executive report from the detailed technical report
You'll learn how to use concise, but detailed sentences in crafting content for executive reports
You'll learn how to make neat, professional annotations on screenshot POCs
You'll learn how to call executives to action with your reports
You'll learn how to cut out all the noise and remove irrelevant details in the content of your report
You'll learn how to perform data analysis using the DIKW model on vulnerability scans and other forms of raw data

Course content

9 sections • 36 lectures • 2h 51m total length

Introduction1:55
Why you need this course5:21
Learn to craft concise, executive-ready infosec reports that convert weeks of assessment into a one-page, business-ready document for c-suite audiences.
Who should take this course1:22
What to expect1:38

Put your report in business context3:22
Skip storytelling, executives don't enjoy that2:26
Deliver concise infosec executive reports on a single page in three minutes or less, skip storytelling, and explain what went wrong, why, and how to fix it.
Visualize your statistical findings2:26
Make your reports actionable4:25
Record only certainties, skip assumptions1:50
Find gaps in compliance standards7:18
Identify gaps in PCI, ISO and other compliance standards to strengthen infosec reports, address weaknesses, and sustain certification through proper change control and ongoing assessments.
Annotate all screenshot POCs4:49
Annotate all screenshot POCs with clear annotations, explaining findings in simple English for executives, and use appendices to add context that guides them to the insights they need.
Polish with proper grammar and formatting4:41

The introductory summary6:51
Explore executive reports for incident response and forensics with concise templates and introductory summaries, conveying root cause, timelines, and preventive measures from investigative and memory analyses.
Summary of results5:01
Summary of conclusions5:12
Learn to write conclusions for infosec forensics reports by tying them to results, identifying root causes, and explaining how a compromised internet banking server became a public proxy.
Summary of recommendations2:09
Presenting the incident response/ forensics report template8:06

The introductory summary3:33
Summary of results6:10
Summary of conclusions1:54
Learn to craft conclusions for threat intelligence executive reports by deriving them from the results section and recognizing dynamic reporting. Identify vulnerabilities from misconfigured protection tools and develop informed recommendations.
Summary of recommendations1:48
Presenting the threat intelligence report template5:35

Requirements

Computer with a minimum of 2GB memory
Operating System: Windows / OS X / Linux
No prior knowledge of any field in cyber security required
Microsoft word and excel or their alternatives

Description

Welcome to this course. Here, you'll learn how to craft professional, powerful executive reports in any Infosec field.

One of the biggest challenge in the Infosec space isn't bordered on deficiency of technical skills, but a deficiency in proper communication - especially reporting to C level executives. Many pros in this field always make the mistake of submitting technical reports to non-technical executives. As a result, there's always a huge communication gap between the security pro and the executive team.

Your report is powerful if:

Executives understand every bit of what you're saying
Executives go ahead to act based on the actionable advice drawn from your report.

If your reports can't make executives call stakeholders to action, then the purpose of the security assessment exercise in any field is defeated.

In this course, you'll learn:

How to convert technical statements to business related statements
How to use visualization to communicate statistical findings
How to ensure that your report fits one page
How to include only relevant details in your report
How to polish your report and make it appealing
How to make executives take action based on what you've communicated
How to use your findings from the assessment exercise to find gaps in compliance standards (PCIDSS, NIST 800-53)

Who this course is for:

Any person in any cyber security related field who's required to write and submit reports to executives
Any person who wishes to join any cyber related field in the corporate world

How To Write Powerful Executive Reports in Infosec

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction4 lectures • 10min

What makes a report professional and powerful?8 lectures • 31min

Writing the executive report - Penetration Testing5 lectures • 32min

Writing the executive report - Incident Response and Forensics5 lectures • 27min

Writing the executive report - Vulnerability Management5 lectures • 25min

Writing the executive report - Threat Intelligence5 lectures • 19min

Writing snapshot reports1 lecture • 9min

Performing data analysis with DIKW2 lectures • 16min

Conclusion1 lecture • 3min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: