From a former security engineer, current Cycode Product Manager.
I still remember the first time I had to present security metrics to leadership.
I walked into the room with what I thought was proof:
charts, severity counts, lists of findings – a dashboard full of red.
I was confident. I had the data.
Five minutes into the meeting, I realized something painful:
Nobody cared.
Not because they didn’t care about security – they did.
But because what I was showing them didn’t answer the only question they were really asking:
“Should we feel safe right now?”
And I didn’t have a clear answer.
Security Has a Trust Problem
Most security teams have a reporting problem.
But the real problem is deeper:
Security has a trust problem.
Because most security reporting looks like this:
- “We found 2,000 vulnerabilities.”
- “We scanned 400 repositories.”
- “Here’s our severity breakdown.”
It’s information. It’s technically correct.
But it doesn’t build trust – because it’s generic.
Leadership doesn’t want a count of violations.
They want confidence.
They want to know:
- Are we getting safer?
- Where are we exposed the most?
- What matters right now?
- What’s the plan?
And when security can’t answer those clearly, what happens next is predictable:
Security becomes “the team that blocks launches.”
Security becomes a cost center.
Security becomes a line item – not a strategy.
This is especially frustrating when security is delivering value but cannot convey it.
Fixing creates value.
Reducing risk creates value.
Improving over time creates value.
But none of that matters if you can’t communicate it.
That’s where most security programs get stuck:
Lots of findings.
Minimal narrative.
And zero confidence outside the security team.
What Great Security Teams Do Differently
The best security teams don’t only have fewer issues,
They have something else:
A story.
A consistent story.
A story that leadership can understand.
A story that fits the company’s priorities and reality.
The Framework I Wish Someone Had Given Me
If you want to earn trust, here’s the simplest framework:
- Start with what matters
Don’t lead with everything. Lead with the risks that actually move the needle. Based on your knowledge of the company and leadership - Show change over time
A snapshot doesn’t build confidence. A trend does. - Make ownership visible
Every security issue is really a process issue with an owner. - Make progress measurable
If you can’t measure improvement, you can’t prove it.
Keep it consistent
Trust comes from repeated clarity – not “new slides every month.”
Why Customizable Dashboards & Reports Matter
This is where the Product Manager in me shows up – but the reason is personal.
I’ve lived the spreadsheet chaos.
I’ve lived the “last-minute board deck.”
I’ve lived the frustration of knowing we were improving… but not being able to prove it quickly.
That’s why we built custom dashboards and reports in Cycode as a way to make security storytelling easier and repeatable.
Dashboards are built from reusable widgets and filters so teams can track their own KPIs – and quickly answer “what about this repo/team/timeframe?” without rebuilding the whole report. They can also include text blocks for context, and be exported as PDFs when it’s time to share outside the tool.
That flexibility is the point. When dashboards match your program, you can track what leadership actually cares about – without rebuilding everything from scratch.
And it matters – good security storytelling is how security becomes credible.
And credibility is what gets you:
- budget
- headcount
- prioritization
- influence
Next Steps
Security teams already do the hard work.
The next step is making that work visible – clearly, consistently, and credibly.
Security storytelling is how great security teams earn trust.
And trust is how security becomes influential.
In security, context is the story. Dashboards and Reports that are hand-tailored to your needs – just help you tell it.
