
Blogs & Opinions 23.01.2025
The Importance Of Red Teaming and What Businesses Need To Know
Proactive simulation exercises are gaining popularity for a reason
Blogs & Opinions 23.01.2025
Proactive simulation exercises are gaining popularity for a reason
Half of UK businesses faced a cybersecurity breach or attack in the past year, according to government data. As cyber-threats become more sophisticated, organisations need advanced strategies to safeguard their digital assets.
While traditional testing methods remain crucial, they often aren’t enough to address the complexity of modern attacks or the need to assess the business as a holistic entity. Many companies are now using “red teaming”, a proactive simulation exercise against real-world cyberattacks to identify gaps in security controls of their business. This approach enables business improvement of security before a real incident occurs.
Here are three key considerations for businesses when it comes to red teaming.
Red Teaming vs Penetration Testing
First, to understand red teaming’s value, it’s important to differentiate it from penetration testing, another important cybersecurity testing method. Both evaluate security, but serve different purposes.
Penetration testing is a targeted assessment of technical vulnerabilities, that is shorter in nature and more tightly scoped to a single set of systems or applications. Red teaming is a broader approach against a whole organisation’s security capability. Instead of a limited set of systems, it mimics real-world cyber-attacks across an enterprise, challenging both technical and human defences.
By simulating the methods of threat actors in this way, organisations can identify weaknesses and test their response to realistic attack scenarios. The combination of these two methods can provide a comprehensive strategy – penetration testing addresses particular technical vulnerabilities, while red teaming evaluates the organisation’s overall resilience to attack.
“By simulating the methods of threat actors, organisations can identify weaknesses and test their response to realistic attack scenarios, enabling them to stay one step ahead of attackers.”
Businesses should choose the right approach based on their security needs and maturity. For those new to cybersecurity or with limited resources, penetration testing can address fundamental technical risks. However, companies with dedicated security capability and staffing, especially in high-risk sectors or handling sensitive data, should undertake red teaming for a more comprehensive view of their security posture. Ideally, organisations use both methods: pen testing to ensure baseline security, and red teaming to evaluate the effectiveness of their security programmes.
Strategic planning and setting up for success
Successful red team exercises require significant planning and clear objectives. This preparation is often undervalued, but it’s essential for gaining meaningful insights. Instead of viewing red teaming as a compliance requirement, companies should treat it as a strategic initiative with well-defined goals. This ensures that the outcomes are relevant and useful.
Objectives should go beyond the typical goal of gaining maximum system access. They should align with specific risks that matter to the business. A financial services company might focus on securing payment systems, while a healthcare provider would prioritise patient data protection. Customising the exercise helps ensure that the insights directly enhance the organisation’s security.
Proper boundaries and secrecy are also crucial to maintaining the exercise’s integrity. Businesses must limit who knows about the upcoming red team engagement, as broad awareness can lead to altered security behaviours, skewing results. Additionally, red team providers should meet high data security standards and comply with regulations like DPA, DORA and GDPR, since they gain extensive access to sensitive systems during the engagement.
Navigating the evolving cyber landscape
As cyber threats evolve, red teaming has become essential for building cybersecurity resilience, helping organisations stay one step ahead of attackers. This proactive approach allows businesses to anticipate the latest tactics used by threat actors, simulating real-world incidents to identify weaknesses. To maintain this edge, red teams must continuously update their methods, incorporating the latest tools, techniques, and attack strategies observed in actual cyber-attacks. This includes keeping a close eye on emerging vulnerabilities and tracking shifts in adversarial behaviour.
As businesses expand their digital operations, often introducing new vulnerabilities, red teaming becomes even more critical. By simulating current threats, organisations can refine their defences, ensuring that both technology and personnel are well-prepared for potential attacks. This continuous process of testing and improvement helps businesses build a robust and adaptable security posture, capable of handling evolving risks and future challenges.
Real-world benefits to stay one step ahead
Red teaming is a vital development in cybersecurity, offering a realistic assessment of an organisation’s defensive capabilities. Although it requires thorough preparation and a certain level of maturity to implement effectively, the insights gained are invaluable in today’s changing cyber environment. As cyber-threats grow and evolve, red teaming will remain a critical strategy for any organisation committed to maintaining strong defences.
As a Director, Giles is responsible for performing Red Team Operations assessments, and internal network assessments on client assets and identifying vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. Giles also provides oversight and guidance for in-progress engagements, in addition to managing security projects from scoping to delivery. In his 15-year career in cybersecurity Giles’ experience is in Red Team Operations and Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) along with experience in performing cloud assessments.