Red Teaming in Cybersecurity

Organizations now handle vast amounts of information in such varied ways that safeguarding it has become a major security challenge. Threat actors continually target businesses, knowing that if they breach defenses, they'll unlock a trove of data that can be leaked, sold, or held for ransom. This reality makes understanding how attackers think and operate a business imperative for any company serious about protecting its assets.

What Is a Red Team?

A red team provides value by executing an assessment that tests an organization's cyber resilience from an adversarial perspective. Red teaming centers on a simple principle: if you want to thwart an attacker, you must first learn to think like one. These teams operate with an adversarial mindset, acting and thinking like actual threat actors to identify vulnerabilities that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Red teams use the same tools, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that malicious actors employ in genuine attacks. They:

• probe networks,
• exploit vulnerabilities, 
• attempt social engineering attacks, and 
• work to breach an organization's defenses.

The assessment demonstrates how attackers can gain a foothold using various exploits while proving that technology, regardless of how advanced, is never foolproof.

Benefits of Red Teaming

After a red team assessment, security teams have evidence that can be used to secure funding and improve areas of weakness. This might involve strategic hiring or installing new technology. What’s the expected result? An improved security posture that could potentially save the organization millions. Research shows the top three red team assessment findings consistently include poor credential handling, lack of network segregation, and lack of patching or unsupported software.

As Kev Breen, Senior Director of Cyber Threat Research at Immersive, explains: "Attackers always have the first move advantage. They get to go first. To combat this, there are a couple of different approaches you can take. Your defensive teams can get hands-on with the same tools, the same skills, the same techniques the attackers have."

Red teams identify complex attack paths that might span multiple systems and require sophisticated coordination. Real attackers don't operate in isolation; they chain together seemingly minor vulnerabilities to achieve major breaches. Red teams replicate this behavior to reveal how an attacker moves laterally through networks, escalates privileges, and maintains persistence.

However, red teams don't just identify what could be attacked. They demonstrate how it would be attacked using current threat actor methodologies. This intelligence helps prioritize security investments and training programs based on actual risk rather than theoretical cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

Red Team vs Blue Team vs Purple Team

Understanding the color-coded terminology (red, blue, and purple teams) in cybersecurity helps clarify how different teams contribute to the overall security posture. Each team serves a distinct purpose, but they work best when their efforts are coordinated and complementary. It’s not just red teams vs blue teams, but purple teams also come to play.

Red Teams 

These teams focus on offensive security operations. They simulate attacks, exploit vulnerabilities, and test defenses using the same methods as actual threat actors. Red teams operate independently and often without the blue team's knowledge during exercises, providing an unbiased assessment of defensive capabilities.

Blue Teams 

They handle defensive operations, monitoring networks, analyzing threats, and responding to incidents. They implement security controls, manage security tools, and work to detect and contain threats. As Kev Marriott, Senior Manager of Cyber, explains: "Unlike red teams, blue teams are looking after the whole gamut of the network. You constantly have your hair on fire trying to keep on top of things and trying to have visibility all over the network."

Purple Teams

Purple teamers bridge the gap between red and blue teams, facilitating knowledge transfer and collaborative improvement. Purple teaming involves joint exercises where offensive and defensive teams work together, sharing insights in real-time to maximize learning outcomes.

The relationship between these teams creates a feedback loop that strengthens overall security. Breen emphasizes this interconnected approach: "You will always be a better defender if you understand how the attack's working. From the offensive side, understanding how the defenders are going to find you. It's that constant cat and mouse game, Red vs. Blue, that you build up that full picture."

Differences Between Red Teaming and Penetration Testing

While red teaming and penetration testing both involve simulated attacks, they serve different purposes and operate under different constraints.

Penetration testing focuses on systems, applications, or network segments within a defined scope and timeframe. Pen testers work methodically through known vulnerability categories, document findings, and provide remediation recommendations. The goal is comprehensive coverage of the defined scope.

Red teaming takes a broader, more adversarial approach. 

Red teams operate with minimal constraints, using any technique available to achieve their objectives. They focus on simulating real-world attack scenarios, including social engineering, physical security bypasses, and complex multi-stage attacks that might unfold over weeks or months.

The scope difference is significant. Penetration tests might examine a specific web application or network segment, while red team exercises can target entire organizations, including people, processes, and technology. Red teams also emphasize stealth and persistence, attempting to maintain access and move laterally without detection.

Red team exercises often reveal organizational vulnerabilities that go beyond technical issues. They test security awareness, incident response procedures, and the effectiveness of security controls under realistic attack conditions. This holistic approach provides different insights compared to traditional penetration testing, but both serve their purpose.

Core Red Team Tactics

Red teams employ a diverse arsenal of tactics that mirror real-world threat actor behavior. These techniques are constantly evolving as attackers develop new methods and security defenses improve.

Reconnaissance and Intelligence Gathering 

This forms the foundation of any red team operation. Teams research target organizations through open source intelligence (OSINT), social media analysis, and public records examination. This phase helps identify potential attack vectors, key personnel, and organizational structure before any active testing begins.

Social Engineering 

It remains one of the most effective attack vectors. Red teams craft phishing campaigns, conduct pretexting calls, and sometimes attempt physical social engineering to gain initial access. These attacks target the human element, which often represents the weakest link in organizational security.

Initial Access Techniques

These include exploiting public-facing applications, targeting remote services, and leveraging trusted relationships. Red teams use the same exploit frameworks and techniques that threat actors employ, ensuring their testing reflects current attack methodologies.

Persistence and Lateral Movement 

Such tactics help red teams maintain access and expand their foothold within target networks. This includes establishing command and control channels, escalating privileges, and moving laterally through network segments to reach high-value targets.

Operational Technology (OT) Attacks

These attacks represent a growing focus area as organizations increasingly connect industrial systems to corporate networks. As Breen shares: "We're starting to see operational technology bridging into the IT worlds; it's through those bridges that we're really starting to see the threat actors come in."

Constant Exercises and Upskilling

Red team exercises also stress-test incident response capabilities under realistic conditions. As Marriott notes from his experience managing cybersecurity teams, "The more you practice it, the more capable you are. You have to get used to being comfortable in the uncomfortable." This practice builds what he calls "muscle memory" for incident response teams, preparing them for the high-pressure decision-making required during actual breaches.

Essential Skills for Red Team Members

Quality red teams command premium rates, often $250 per hour over several weeks, because they combine technical expertise with specific red-team habits and persistence. There's a reason two-thirds of businesses prefer red teams to blue teams, though both serve different but complementary purposes in cybersecurity.

Successful professionals require specific human traits that go beyond technical knowledge. Some of those that make them particularly valuable are:

Ingenuity 

Red team members must think outside the box, breaking conventional approaches while following ethical hacking principles.

Thoroughness

Objectives and rules of engagement must be meticulously planned before execution. Red teamers must also be careful about information sharing, as details in the wrong hands can compromise the operation.

Cooperation

Red teams are kings at collaboration. And there’s a reason for that. It limits mistakes and builds chemistry that translates to smoother processes and better outcomes.

How to become a better red teamer? Dave Spencer, Director of Technical Product Management at Immersive, defines it best:

https://web.descript.com/b77a7a9f-4b4d-4665-800a-371154cbb761/858f8

Stress management and decision-making

Last, but not least, being able to put oneself together in a crisis is a vital skill that can only be developed through practice. Marriott's experience highlights this: "The more experience you get in making high value decisions at a time where there is no best answer, the better you get it."

Elevate Your Red Team Training with Immersive

Modern red team training must address the full spectrum of current threats, from traditional network attacks to emerging AI-powered threats and operational technology vulnerabilities. As Breen explains: "When a new CVE comes out, we don't just focus on here's how you defend your organization, we also give you the red team content as well, because you will always be a better defender if you understand how the attack's working."

Organizations need red team professionals who understand both traditional IT attacks and the unique challenges of OT environments, where availability often takes precedence over confidentiality. Apart from that, AI and emerging technology training represent a new frontier for red team development. As generative AI becomes more prevalent, red teams must understand both how to leverage these tools for enhanced testing and how to defend against AI-powered attacks.

The key to successful red team training lies in creating realistic, hands-on experiences that mirror actual threat scenarios while providing safe environments. And that’s what we do best at Immersive. Interested in what we can do for you? Book a demo today.