What to Do If You Fail a Penetration Test
Failed your pentest? You’re not alone — and it’s not the end of the world.
Maybe the report came back with critical issues you didn’t expect. Maybe the testers uncovered vulnerabilities in code you haven’t touched in years. Maybe you’ve got compliance deadlines creeping up and you’re wondering if this just blew your shot at SOC 2, HIPAA, or ISO 27001.
The good news? A “bad” pentest is actually one of the best opportunities to improve your security — if you know how to respond.
In this video, I walk through what really happens when a pentest doesn’t go well, how to handle it without panicking, and how to turn that rough report into a win for your team, your auditors, and your long-term security posture.
You’ll learn:
- What auditors actually expect after a failed pentest
- How to stick to SLAs for remediation (and what reasonable timelines look like)
- How retests work and why they matter
- How to show meaningful improvement and build credibility
- How to turn findings into better policies, pipelines, and processes
📘 Want to go deeper? Download my free ebook:
👉 Audit-Proof Your Pentest: 17 Mistakes That Will Blow Your Audit – And How to Avoid Them
