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Pentest reports are a key deliverable for your clients or internal stakeholders – but they can be tedious and time-consuming to create manually. With a pentest reporting automation platform, you can speed up the process while also ensuring high-quality reports.

Ready to cut reporting time in half? Here are 10 tips to help you select the right pentest reporting automation platform:

1

Aggregates data from multiple sources: Manually managing information from disparate sources is time consuming and can lead to missed detail or errors. Look for a reporting automation platform that serves as a central location to easily upload results from all standard pentesting tools and analyze the raw data files.

2

Offers a reusable content repository: Technical snippets are a critical component of the report writeup and findings analysis. However, they often are repetitive as similar findings come up in many different engagements. A reporting automation solution that includes a powerful content management module can transform the quality and consistency of finding writeups. It enables you to store QAed write ups in organized repositories directly in the reporting platform for single-click, permission-based access. Being able to archive and reuse other forms of content like bios, boilerplates, etc., is also important.

3

Captures artifacts: A quality report includes visual evidence that supports the findings and recommendations, like screenshots, code snippets, photos, or even video artifacts. Look for a reporting automation solution that facilitates the capture and storage of all the artifacts and evidence needed for the final report.

4

Facilitates collaboration and QA processes: Many inefficiencies in the report creation process happen during collaboration. An effective pentest reporting automation platform should facilitate collaboration and QA processes to save time and improve the final product. Commenting and change tracking in the same place where reusable content is housed and the report is produced greatly reduces context shifting and version-control issues.

5

Formats report templates: The ability to create the template once and automate the inclusion of content and formatting is a game changer for ensuring quality and consistency with every deliverable. Whether you need a fully customized template to represent your service provider’s unique perspective or are seeking multiple standardized templates for different types of security reports, look for a reporting automation platform that will keep branding and content consistent with company standards every time — with much less effort for everyone involved.

6

Supports secure dynamic findings delivery: It’s essential to find a pentest reporting automation platform that enables you to scale an engagement and a report without expending more resources. A reporting automation platform that can support secure dynamic findings delivery gives clients or internal stakeholders access to in-depth information — and even raw data findings — without making the report cumbersome or unreadable.

7

Ensures secure delivery of reports: A reporting automation platform with a permission-based portal ensures simple secure delivery of the report along with more efficient communication throughout the engagement. It also enables you to communicate scoping questionnaires, provide results throughout the engagement, and deliver the final recommendations securely — all without added tools, steps, or processes.

8

Creates actionable insights: Completing annual testing and finding the same issues engagement after engagement, for example, is frustrating for testers. Look for a platform that supports dynamic findings delivery. When all stakeholders use a reporting automation platform, recommendations can be immediately turned into remediation tickets and assigned and tracked.

9

Promotes stakeholder differentiation: To truly be effective, a pentest report must communicate to several different stakeholders. Look for a reporting automation platform that makes the differentiation of content for various stakeholders more of a science. For example, the platform should offer reusable standard narrative content, the ability to create analytics and data visualizations, and access to raw data and all the findings via a portal.

10

Passes the customer vibe check: When comparing pentest reporting automation platforms, be sure to ask for customer references. Hearing or reading testimonials from existing customers can help you determine if the platform has the necessary features to meet your needs.

Interested in learning more? Our checklist is based on an eBook, Don’t Trade Quality for Speed in Your Pentest Reporting. Download it for additional details or request a demo to speak with a PlexTrac expert.

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