Red teaming goes a step beyond traditional pentesting. While pentesting focuses on finding all vulnerabilities in specific systems, Red teaming simulates a real attack, such as a ransomware attack or an attack to steal information. During a Red teaming exercise, no one in the organization, except a couple of people (the white team), are aware of the test, and it is up to the organization to detect and mitigate the attack.

A Red teaming exercise involves multiple structured phases that the Red team uses to gain insights into both technical and organizational security measures. These phases include specific actions that mirror the progression of a real cyberattack, known as the Unified Kill Chain.

A purple teaming exercise follows the same steps as Red teaming but is conducted together with the organization. This results in high engagement within the organization and allows for immediate improvements by the blue team during the attack, such as creating detection rules.

In our Red teaming projects, we see that nearly every attack succeeds, despite the certifications and audits that larger companies often rely on. This underscores the importance of realistic and rigorous testing. The takeaway is clear: checkmarks and audits form the foundation but do not provide complete protection. Ensure that you test your environment and organization with realistic scenarios and gain experience in responding to them. This provides the ultimate resilience boost for your organization.