What is Red Teaming?
Red teaming is an advanced security assessment that simulates real-world attacks against your organization to identify security gaps and improve your defenses. Unlike traditional penetration testing, red teaming takes a more comprehensive approach by testing your entire security posture - including technology, people, and processes.
Our red team operations emulate the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by actual threat actors targeting your industry. We use a combination of technical attacks, social engineering, and physical security testing to identify vulnerabilities and test your organization's detection and response capabilities.
Red team exercises provide valuable insights into how well your security controls work in practice, how effectively your team detects and responds to threats, and how resilient your organization is against sophisticated attacks. These assessments help you validate security investments and prioritize improvements to your security program.
Key Benefits
- Test defenses against real-world attack scenarios
- Identify gaps in detection and monitoring capabilities
- Validate security team's incident response procedures
- Discover attack paths that automated tools can't find
- Build a more resilient security program
- Meet regulatory requirements for advanced security testing
Red Teaming vs. Penetration Testing
Understanding the differences between these complementary security services
Red Teaming
- Simulates real-world attacks from specific threat actors
- Goal-oriented approach (e.g., access sensitive data)
- Uses multiple attack vectors (technical, physical, social)
- Operates covertly to test detection capabilities
- Evaluates the entire security program holistically
- Typically runs over several weeks or months
- Focus on stealth, persistence, and real-world scenarios
Penetration Testing
- Identifies and exploits security vulnerabilities
- Focuses on finding as many vulnerabilities as possible
- Typically limited to a specific scope or system
- Often performed with prior knowledge of targets
- Usually conducted over days or weeks
- Primary goal is to identify and fix vulnerabilities
- Follows a structured, methodical approach
Which Service Is Right For You?
Many organizations benefit from both services as part of a comprehensive security program. Penetration testing provides regular validation of security controls, while red teaming offers periodic, in-depth assessment of your overall security posture and incident response capabilities.
For organizations with mature security programs that have already implemented regular penetration testing, red teaming is the next step in evolving your security posture.
Our Red Team Services
We offer a range of red team engagements to meet your specific security objectives
Full-Scope Red Team Operations
Comprehensive, multi-vector assessment that simulates sophisticated attacks across technical, physical, and social engineering vectors to achieve specific objectives.
Purple Team Exercises
Collaborative engagements where red team activities are conducted with visibility to blue teams, providing immediate feedback and training opportunities.
Adversary Emulation
Targeted scenarios that mimic the TTPs of specific threat actors known to target your industry, based on threat intelligence.
Social Engineering Campaigns
Sophisticated phishing, vishing, and physical social engineering attacks to test your employees' security awareness and your organization's controls.
Physical Security Assessment
Testing of physical access controls and security measures to identify potential entry points for unauthorized access to sensitive areas.
Tabletop Exercises
Scenario-based workshops that test your incident response procedures, decision-making processes, and team coordination during simulated security incidents.
Our Red Team Methodology
We follow a structured approach to ensure thorough and valuable red team engagements
Objective Definition & Threat Profiling
We begin by defining clear objectives for the engagement and identifying the specific threat actors and attack scenarios relevant to your organization based on industry, size, and data assets.
Intelligence Gathering & Reconnaissance
Our team performs extensive reconnaissance using open-source intelligence (OSINT) and other passive techniques to gather information about your organization, just as real attackers would.
Attack Surface Mapping
We identify potential entry points and vulnerabilities across your digital and physical attack surface, creating a comprehensive map of targets for the engagement.
TTPs Selection & Campaign Planning
Based on our objectives and intelligence gathered, we select appropriate tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to emulate and develop a detailed campaign plan.
Red Team Execution
We execute the planned campaign using technical attacks, social engineering, and/or physical security testing to achieve the defined objectives while carefully documenting all activities.
Comprehensive Documentation
Throughout the engagement, we maintain detailed logs of all activities, successful and unsuccessful attack paths, and evidence collection to support post-engagement analysis.
Analysis & Reporting
We analyze the results of the engagement, including attack paths, security control effectiveness, detection capabilities, and response activities, and provide a comprehensive report with strategic and tactical recommendations.
Debrief & Knowledge Transfer
We conduct detailed debriefing sessions with your security team to review findings, demonstrate attack techniques, and provide guidance on implementing recommended improvements.
MITRE ATT&CK Framework-Based Approach
Our red team engagements are based on the industry-standard MITRE ATT&CK framework, which provides a comprehensive matrix of the tactics and techniques used by threat actors in real-world attacks.
By aligning our methodology with this framework, we ensure that our red team operations accurately simulate the full attack lifecycle, from initial access and persistence to privilege escalation, lateral movement, and data exfiltration.
This approach allows us to test your security controls against well-documented, real-world attack techniques and provide recommendations that directly map to specific MITRE ATT&CK mitigations, making it easier to prioritize and implement security improvements.
Reconnaissance
Gathering information to plan future operations.
Resource Development
Acquiring resources like infrastructure, capabilities, or access to support operations.
Initial Access
Testing techniques used to gain entry to your environment.
Execution
Running malicious code within your systems.
Persistence
Maintaining access despite system restarts or credential changes.
Privilege Escalation
Gaining higher-level permissions within systems.
Defense Evasion
Avoiding detection by security tools and teams.
Credential Access
Stealing account names and passwords.
Discovery
Exploring the environment to learn its characteristics.
Lateral Movement
Moving through the environment to reach objectives.
Collection
Gathering data relevant to the adversary’s goals.
Command and Control
Establishing communication channels to control compromised systems.
Exfiltration
Stealing data from the target environment.
Impact
Manipulating, interrupting, or destroying systems and data.
Why Choose Reconix For Red Teaming?
Elite Red Team Operators
Our red team consists of highly experienced security professionals with backgrounds in offensive security, intelligence operations, and advanced adversary simulation.
Threat Intelligence-Driven
We incorporate the latest threat intelligence into our operations to ensure our attack scenarios reflect current threat actor TTPs relevant to your industry.
Realistic Simulation
Our engagements accurately emulate how real-world adversaries would target your organization, providing valuable insights into your actual security posture.
Comprehensive Coverage
We test across technical, physical, and human attack vectors to provide a complete assessment of your security program.
Actionable Reporting
Our detailed reports include strategic recommendations, tactical improvements, and clear guidance for enhancing your security posture.
Frequently Asked Questions About Red Teaming
Get answers to common questions about our red team services
Is my organization ready for a red team engagement?
Red team engagements are most beneficial for organizations with mature security programs that have already implemented fundamental security controls and regularly conduct penetration testing. If you have an established security team, incident response procedures, and detection capabilities that you want to validate, a red team engagement can provide valuable insights. If you're still building your security program, we might recommend starting with penetration testing or purple team exercises.
How long does a red team engagement typically last?
The duration of a red team engagement varies based on the scope and objectives. Full-scope red team operations typically run for 4-12 weeks, allowing sufficient time for reconnaissance, planning, and execution phases. More targeted adversary emulation exercises might be completed in 2-4 weeks. We'll work with you to design an engagement that meets your objectives and timeline constraints.
Will a red team exercise disrupt our business operations?
Our red team exercises are carefully planned and executed to minimize the risk of business disruption. We implement strict safety measures and establish clear rules of engagement before starting any activities. While we aim to simulate realistic attack scenarios, we always prioritize the stability and continuity of your business operations. We can also schedule certain high-risk activities during off-hours or maintenance windows if needed.
Who should know about the red team engagement?
For maximum value, knowledge of the red team engagement should be limited to a small group of stakeholders (often called the 'white team'). This typically includes select members of executive leadership and security management. Restricting awareness helps create a realistic scenario that truly tests your detection and response capabilities. However, we always work within your organizational requirements and can adjust the engagement model as needed.
What deliverables will we receive after a red team engagement?
Following a red team engagement, you'll receive a comprehensive report that includes an executive summary, detailed findings, attack path documentation, evidence of successful techniques, analysis of detection gaps, and strategic and tactical recommendations. We also provide a remediation roadmap prioritized by impact and implementation effort. Additionally, we conduct debriefing sessions with your security team to review findings and provide guidance on implementing improvements.
Ready to Test Your Security Defenses?
Partner with Reconix for professional red team operations that help validate and strengthen your security posture.
Reconix operates with the highest standards of confidentiality. All client information is protected under strict non-disclosure agreements. Your security is our priority.
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