Paula Pustulka

Designation:

Editor, Cure53

Talk Title:

Ticketing 101: Making Sure Your Documentation Is As Good As Your Findings

Abstract:

Do you sometimes feel like your bugs are not being acknowledged or understood? Are you really great at finding vulnerabilities but have trouble writing up bug reports? Do people get confused when reading about your findings despite their technical awesomeness? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, this workshop on technical writing and editing is what you need.

It happens way too often that brilliant findings fail to reach wider audiences in the IT-sec community. There are many reasons behind it and some of you might have even heard that ‘The guy who knows about computers is the last person you want to have to create documentation for people who don't understand computers'. Besides that, problems with being misunderstood as a researcher come down to how IT researchers who find vulnerabilities must communicate their discoveries to the tech world dominated by American business English.

In this context, this workshop offers practical solutions for improving your skills in documentation, especially in terms of writing-up tickets, bug reports, and penetration testing reports. With hands-on approaches, interactive exercises, and a focus on best practices, tricks, and tips, you will learn about the key aspects of technical editing in the IT sector. In short, this workshop is about making the technical writing-up process enjoyable, or at least not as dreadful as it may seem.

Based on 10+ years of experience in technical editing for Cure53, I will offer insights ranging from general business issues and considerations for proper documentation, to the practicalities of writing ‘a perfect ticket’. Using examples from the field and fun exercises, this workshop is a good fit for:

• Security researchers who wish to improve their ticket-writing and reporting skills
• IT professionals who are considering specialization in technical editing for the IT sector

Bio:

Besides being a successful researcher in social sciences, Paula Pustulka has freelanced as a technical editor for the IT sector since 2011. Nearly a decade ago, she started working with Cure53, a Berlin-based penetration testing company. Some of her editing projects can be found at https://cure53.de/#publications.

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