How to Write an Executive Summary
- Joseph Rapley
- Oct 24
- 5 min read
The final outcome of most penetration tests is the report, and it is often the part dreaded most by the consultants carrying out the test. One part especially is frequently found difficult by many consultants but, with the right guidance, can actually be relatively straight forward. The Executive Summary.
A pentest report is only as valuable as its first page. The executive summary is where decisions are made, it’s what boards, managers, and risk owners read first, and needs to deliver valuable information, in as little words as possible. I often say that a good executive summary is no more than half a page.
A good summary doesn’t require any technical detail, only the relative detail that portrays business impact, risk priorities, and clear next steps. It tells leadership : “What does this mean for us, and what do we need to do?”
Pentest reports should also follow a clear structure:
Executive summary
Recommended actions
Summary table of findings
Technical details (scope and summary)
Detailed findings
This format keeps reports readable, informative, and provide important information up front. The executive summary needs to be the only thing that most people read.
Writing a Summary That is Clear and Concise
1. Explain the Engagement and Context
Start with what was tested, when, and why. Keep it short.
Cyberoptic Security conducted an external and application penetration test of ExampleCorp’s online customer portal and related APIs between 7–10 October 2025. The assessment focused on authentication, data handling, and exposure of sensitive information.
This sentence tells readers immediately what’s covered and sets boundaries for accountability.
Follow that with a short statement of overall security posture:
The customer portal demonstrates moderate security maturity. No active compromise was identified, but several high-risk vulnerabilities could lead to data exposure or service disruption if exploited.
That’s enough for most executives to understand the ultimate risk position.
2. Summarise the Key Risks in Business Language
Provide relevant information on the risks that the company should be most concerned about. You can leave out the TLS v1.0 findings. Describe each in one sentence that links the technical flaw to a business impact, but without including technical detail. If suitable, combine related findings.
Insecure session handling could allow account takeover and unauthorised access to customer data.
Missing input validation in your public APIs could expose sensitive database content to unauthorised users.
A weak password policy and no login abuse mitigations increases the likelihood of a successful password guessing attack.
Avoid jargon and use plain English that describes consequence and likelihood.
The most significant issues include insecure session handling, missing input validation in the API, and weak administrative password policies. Together, these weaknesses could allow attackers to access customer records or modify system configuration.
Then summarise the overall business impact:
Exploitation of these vulnerabilities could lead to data disclosure, Privacy Act notification obligations, financial cost from investigation and downtime, and reputational damage.
If it is apparent that there are particular systemic issues, or root causes, for common issues detected during the engagement, provide a summary of this as well.
Most issues identified stem from inconsistent application of secure development and configuration practices rather than a lack of technical capability. In particular, missing validation, default credentials, and outdated components suggest gaps in secure coding standards, deployment checks, and regular patch management. Addressing these underlying processes will reduce future risk more effectively than one-off fixes.
3. Translate to Priority Actions
Right after the written summary, outline exactly what leadership should do next. Link these actions to the relevant findings within the report. put this in order of priority, immediate, short, medium, long term (even just bullets):
Immediate: Quick mitigations and emergency patches.
Patch and retest critical vulnerabilities within 14 days.
Short-Medium Term: Permanent fixes, architecture reviews, code changes.
Enforce MFA and improve session handling logic.
Long Term: Audit, staff training, process improvements.
Establish regular security testing and configuration reviews.
Keeping this high in the report ensures that even if the reader stops here, they still know what matters most. This gives your summary structure and shows a practical path forward.
Add a Simple Summary Table
While not part of the executive summary, a technical summary table provides an easy location for reviewing the findings made during the engagement, and is a quick place to go to for reference. After the executive summary and actions, include a one-page table of all findings, with basic information:
Colour-coding (e.g. yellow/magenta/cyan) makes the priorities stand out and visually ties the report together.
Link the Summary to the Technical Details
The rest of your report should trace cleanly back to the executive summary:
Recommended actions expand the bullet points you’ve introduced.
Summary table of findings lists each item with the same title and impact rating.
Detailed findings give technical evidence (description, assets affected, impact, reproduction steps, remediation, references).
Keeping this consistent avoids confusion and makes the report easier to follow for both for the engineers fixing the issues and for consultants re-testing the issues after remediation.
Example Executive Summary
Cyberoptic Security conducted an application penetration test of ExampleCorp’s online customer portal and related APIs between 7–10 October 2025. The assessment focused on authentication, data handling, and exposure of sensitive information.
The customer portal demonstrates moderate security maturity. No active compromise was identified, but several high-risk vulnerabilities could lead to data exposure or service disruption if exploited.
The most significant issues include insecure session handling, missing input validation in an API endpoint, and weak administrative password policies. Together, these weaknesses could allow attackers to access customer records or modify system configuration. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities could lead to data disclosure, Privacy Act notification obligations, financial cost from investigation and downtime, and reputational damage.
Most issues identified stem from inconsistent application of secure development and configuration practices rather than a lack of technical capability. In particular, missing validation, default credentials, and outdated components suggest gaps in secure coding standards, deployment checks, and regular patch management. Addressing these underlying processes will reduce future risk more effectively than one-off fixes.
Checklist for Writing a Strong Executive Summary
Describe what was tested and when
State overall security posture clearly
Highlight actual business risks, not every issue
Summarise likely consequences in business language
Include prioritised actions
Keep under one page
Match the tone of your audience (board vs. IT team)
Align with the rest of the report
The executive summary is the bridge between the technical and the strategic. If leadership can read one page and know:
What was tested
The overall level of risk
What’s most urgent
What can wait
What to do next
…then you’ve written a summary that works.
That’s what turns a penetration test report into a business decision and what makes Cyberoptic’s reports stand out in the New Zealand market.
