Penetration Testing vs. Red Teaming engagements: Key Distinction
29th November 2022
Finding the right security service to assess your organisation is a critical aspect of any security program. Each security service has its benefits and fits
What is red team security assessment?
Red team security assessment, also known as red teaming, is a method used to evaluate and test the security measures of an organisation, system, or network. It involves simulating real-world attacks and employing adversarial tactics to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses that could be exploited by malicious actors.
The red team, which consists of skilled and experienced security professionals, assumes the role of the attacker. Their objective is to assess the effectiveness of an organisation’s defencive measures and provide valuable insights into potential security gaps.
Red team assessments go beyond traditional vulnerability scanning or penetration testing. They involve a comprehensive and holistic approach to uncover vulnerabilities across different layers of an organisation, including people, processes, and technology. Red team activities may include social engineering, physical breaches, application exploits, network intrusion, and more.
What we do
Dionach’s red team security assessment is designed to offer organisations the highest level of assurance that their most critical assets are secure, and pinpoint where processes need to be tightened up.
In contrast to penetration testing which focuses on system-specific vulnerabilities, red team testing is a stringent assessment of security across all domains, for instance scrutinising whether intellectual property can be stolen and whether customer contact lists, personally identifiable information and payment details are adequately secured.
Our technical experts go the extra mile to mirror the whole range of techniques currently being used by attackers.
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Red TEAM SECURITY ASSESSMENT PHASES
Planning and Scoping
The red team collaborates with the organisation to define the objectives, scope, and rules of engagement for the assessment. They gather information about the target systems, networks, and the organisation’s overall security posture. This phase helps ensure that the assessment aligns with the organisation’s goals and focuses on the areas of highest risk.
Reconnaissance
The red team conducts reconnaissance to gather information about the target organisation. This may involve passive techniques like open-source intelligence (OSINT) gathering, analysing publicly available information, or actively probing the target’s infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the target’s systems, network architecture, and potential entry points.
Threat Modeling
Based on the information gathered during reconnaissance, the red team identifies and prioritises potential attack vectors and threats. They analyse vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and weaknesses in systems, applications, or processes that could be exploited. This phase helps the red team develop an effective attack strategy tailored to the organisation’s specific environment.
Exploitation
The red team simulates attacks and attempts to exploit the identified vulnerabilities. They may use various techniques, such as social engineering, phishing, network attacks, or application exploits. The goal is to gain unauthorised access, escalate privileges, and move deeper into the target environment. The red team leverages their expertise to bypass security controls and demonstrate the potential impact of successful attacks.
Post-exploitation
Once the red team gains initial access, they focus on expanding their presence within the target environment. They move laterally through the network, attempting to gain access to sensitive data or critical systems. This phase helps assess the organisation’s ability to detect and respond to intrusions and to determine the extent of the damage an attacker could cause if undetected.
Reporting
After the assessment, the red team prepares a detailed report documenting their findings, methodologies, and recommendations. The report highlights the vulnerabilities discovered, the techniques used, and potential impacts. It also includes actionable recommendations to help the organisation improve its security defences. A debriefing session is conducted with the organisation’s stakeolders to discuss the findings and ensure a clear understanding of the assessment’s outcomes.
Planning and Scoping
The red team collaborates with the organisation to define the objectives, scope, and rules of engagement for the assessment. They gather information about the target systems, networks, and the organisation’s overall security posture. This phase helps ensure that the assessment aligns with the organisation’s goals and focuses on the areas of highest risk.
Reconnaissance
The red team conducts reconnaissance to gather information about the target organisation. This may involve passive techniques like open-source intelligence (OSINT) gathering, analysing publicly available information, or actively probing the target’s infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the target’s systems, network architecture, and potential entry points.
Threat Modeling
Based on the information gathered during reconnaissance, the red team identifies and prioritises potential attack vectors and threats. They analyse vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and weaknesses in systems, applications, or processes that could be exploited. This phase helps the red team develop an effective attack strategy tailored to the organisation’s specific environment.
Exploitation
The red team simulates attacks and attempts to exploit the identified vulnerabilities. They may use various techniques, such as social engineering, phishing, network attacks, or application exploits. The goal is to gain unauthorised access, escalate privileges, and move deeper into the target environment. The red team leverages their expertise to bypass security controls and demonstrate the potential impact of successful attacks.
Post-exploitation
Once the red team gains initial access, they focus on expanding their presence within the target environment. They move laterally through the network, attempting to gain access to sensitive data or critical systems. This phase helps assess the organisation’s ability to detect and respond to intrusions and to determine the extent of the damage an attacker could cause if undetected.
Reporting
After the assessment, the red team prepares a detailed report documenting their findings, methodologies, and recommendations. The report highlights the vulnerabilities discovered, the techniques used, and potential impacts. It also includes actionable recommendations to help the organisation improve its security defences. A debriefing session is conducted with the organisation’s stakeholders to discuss the findings and ensure a clear understanding of the assessment’s outcomes.
WHY CONDUCT A RED TEAM SECURITY ASSESSMENT?
- Expose vulnerabilities at all levels and better understand how you would respond to a real cyber attack.
- Thorough risk evaluation covering electronic, social and physical threats that takes your cyber risk awareness and mitigation to new heights.
- Put your organisation to the test using the latest real-world cybercrime techniques.
- Pinpoint vulnerabilities in your current processes, systems, policies and procedures.
- Demonstrate cyber resilience to the Board, stakeholders, customers and regulators.
Red Teams vs. Blue Teams vs. Purple Teams: Understanding the Role of Each in Cybersecurity
Red Teams, Blue Teams, and Purple Teams are terms commonly used in the field of cybersecurity to describe different approaches to evaluating and improving an organisation’s security posture. Each team plays a unique role in the overall security strategy, and their collaboration is essential for a comprehensive defense against cyber threats. Let’s explore each team’s role:
RED TEAM
A Red Team is an independent group of skilled cybersecurity professionals tasked with simulating real-world cyber-attacks on an organisation’s systems, networks, and applications. Their goal is to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses that malicious attackers could exploit. Red Teams use a variety of tools and techniques, including penetration testing, social engineering, and vulnerability assessments, to mimic the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of actual hackers. The objective is to assess the organisation’s security defenses and provide valuable insights into potential areas for improvement.
BLUE TEAM
Blue Teams, on the other hand, are internal security teams within an organisation responsible for defending against cyber threats and protecting the organisation’s assets. They analyse the findings and reports generated by Red Teams and respond to simulated attacks in real-time. Blue Teams monitor the network for signs of malicious activity, investigate security incidents, and work to prevent, detect, and mitigate security breaches. Their role is to strengthen the organisation’s defenses based on the lessons learned from Red Team exercises and ensure the security controls are effective and up to date.
PURPLE TEAM
Purple Teams are the result of the collaboration between Red Teams and Blue Teams. The concept behind a Purple Team is to foster cooperation and knowledge-sharing between offensive (Red Team) and defensive (Blue Team) security experts. When a Red Team performs an attack simulation, they work closely with the Blue Team, sharing information about the techniques used and providing insights into how to detect and respond to such attacks. This collaboration allows the Blue Team to improve their detection and response capabilities, while the Red Team gains a better understanding of defensive strategies and challenges. The overall goal is to enhance the organisation’s overall security posture through combined efforts.
RED TEAM
A Red Team is an independent group of skilled cybersecurity professionals tasked with simulating real-world cyber-attacks on an organisation’s systems, networks, and applications. Their goal is to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses that malicious attackers could exploit. Red Teams use a variety of tools and techniques, including penetration testing, social engineering, and vulnerability assessments, to mimic the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of actual hackers. The objective is to assess the organisation’s security defenses and provide valuable insights into potential areas for improvement.
BLUE TEAM
Blue Teams, on the other hand, are internal security teams within an organisation responsible for defending against cyber threats and protecting the organisation’s assets. They analyse the findings and reports generated by Red Teams and respond to simulated attacks in real-time. Blue Teams monitor the network for signs of malicious activity, investigate security incidents, and work to prevent, detect, and mitigate security breaches. Their role is to strengthen the organisation’s defenses based on the lessons learned from Red Team exercises and ensure the security controls are effective and up to date.
PURPLE TEAM
Purple Teams are the result of the collaboration between Red Teams and Blue Teams. The concept behind a Purple Team is to foster cooperation and knowledge-sharing between offensive (Red Team) and defensive (Blue Team) security experts. When a Red Team performs an attack simulation, they work closely with the Blue Team, sharing information about the techniques used and providing insights into how to detect and respond to such attacks. This collaboration allows the Blue Team to improve their detection and response capabilities, while the Red Team gains a better understanding of defensive strategies and challenges. The overall goal is to enhance the organisation’s overall security posture through combined efforts.
Red team security assessment FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We have documented frequently asked questions about our red team security assessment services. If you cannot find the answer to your questions, please do get in touch directly. We’ll be happy to help.
A red team security assessment is a simulated attack conducted by a team of ethical hackers to evaluate the effectiveness of an organisation’s security defenses.
The goal of a red team assessment is to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in an organisation’s security infrastructure and help improve its overall security posture.
While both involve simulated attacks, a red team assessment goes beyond a penetration test by simulating real-world attack scenarios and testing the effectiveness of the organisation’s response capabilities.
The steps in a red team assessment may include reconnaissance, target selection, attack simulation, exploitation, and post-attack analysis and reporting.
Red team assessments are usually conducted by experienced cybersecurity professionals who specialise in offensive security techniques.
Red team assessments help organisations uncover unknown vulnerabilities, enhance incident response capabilities, and identify areas for improvement in their security defenses.
The frequency of red team assessments depends on factors such as the organisation’s risk profile and industry regulations. Typically, they are conducted annually or biennially.
Challenges may include maintaining a balance between realistic attack simulations and minimising disruptions, ensuring clear communication and coordination with the organisation’s security team, and managing potential legal and regulatory issues.
Deliverables usually include a comprehensive report detailing the vulnerabilities identified, exploited attack paths, and recommendations for improving security defenses.
Yes, red team assessments can be performed on cloud-based environments to assess the security of cloud services, configurations, and access controls.
By simulating real-world attacks, a red team assessment helps organisations identify gaps in their incident response processes and provides an opportunity to practice and refine their response procedures.
Risks may include unintentional disruptions to operations, potential damage to systems or data, and the possibility of false positives/negatives in identifying vulnerabilities.
Preparation may involve reviewing and validating existing security controls, establishing communication channels with the red team, and defining the scope and rules of engagement for the assessment.
Yes, red team assessments can be tailored to address specific security concerns, focus on critical assets, or emulate particular threat scenarios relevant to the organisation.
Post-assessment activities may include remediation of identified vulnerabilities, training and awareness programs for employees, and ongoing monitoring and testing to maintain security readiness.
Assurance service
How are Dionach positioned to help Your Organisation?
Dionach is a cybersecurity company that specialises in providing comprehensive security services to organisations of all sizes. Dionach can conduct comprehensive red team security assessment of your organisation’s systems, networks, and applications to identify vulnerabilities and provide recommendations for remediation. It can help you manage your organisation’s vulnerabilities by identifying, prioritising, and mitigating them before they can be exploited by attackers. Overall, Dionach’s 23 years experience and expertise in cybersecurity can help your organisation improve its security posture and protect against cyber threats.
HOW WE WORK
We deliver the whole spectrum of cyber security services, from long-term, enterprise wide strategy and implementation projects to single penetration tests.
Our team works with you to identify and assess your organisation’s vulnerabilities, define enterprise-wide goals, and advise how best to achieve them.
Our recommendations are clear, concise, pragmatic and tailored to your organisation.
Independent, unbiased, personalised – this is how we define our services. We guide you to spend wisely and invest in change efficiently.
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