Red Teaming

What is Red Teaming?

Red Teaming is a simulation of a comprehensive cyber attack from different perspectives that is as close to reality as possible. During our Red Teaming tests we will be looking to test your companies security capabilities and see if its possible to complete a pre-set objective, be it accessing a system or a pre defined folder. Our team of experts, who come from a wide range of cybersecurity backgrounds, provide the necessary expertise combined with in-depth knowledge and years of experience to simulate even the most advanced cyber attacks.

Why is Red Teaming important?

Experienced and professional cybercriminals do not learn standards, and neither do they act on them. For them, an attack is more of a creative and flexible approach than a standardized mechanism.

Unlike penetration testers, those cybercriminals do not follow given procedures: they rely on their experience as well as intuition and thus always find more sophisticated and ingenious ways to compromise your systems. This includes the classic theft of data, etc.

Therefore, unfortunately, no standard can predict all risks, but simulating the events via Red Teaming methods will expose potential weak points in your IT security.

Is Red Teaming risky?

No, if it is performed by professional experts and in cooperation with the appropriate IT departments it is perfectly safe and secure. All tests are performed by our, qualified personnel, who have years of professional expertise in the field of Red Teaming. Moreover, our Red Teaming testers have numerous qualifications.

What is difference between red teaming and penetration testing?

This depends on the goal in question:
If the goal is to test systems and networks for known vulnerabilities, specifically to determine if those vulnerabilities can be exploited? Then we recommend the use of a penetration test.

Do you want a thorough objective based testing of the general security status and capabilities of the company? In this case Red Teaming is recommended.

How Red Teaming works (at DIESEC)

When it comes to Red Teaming, our experts at DIESEC always go one step further than many companies. A typical cyber attack has three levels:

Network
web applications
People (social engineering)

Other companies check at least one of these layers immediately - however at DIESEC we check all three levels. With Red Teaming, however, we always start with OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) to ensure even greater security for your organization.

Red Teaming and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)

Every private person leaves traces on the Internet.
Companies leave many traces - including the personal ones of every employee. This is a treasure trove of information for potential attackers. Those attackers and experts in OSINT are able to extract a lot of information about the company and their individuals and use it as a gateway for attacks.

For example, if it is discovered what hardware and software is being used, an exploit can be used to infiltrate the network.
This is the same with web applications, when vulnerabilities are found to steal databases and obtain employee information. The latter helps to carry out a targeted social engineering attacks.

Therefore, it is very important to know what information the potential attackers could get. For this reason, many companies consider Red Teaming and OSINT as a must-have for building a proper security architecture. After a detailed OSINT analysis, DIESEC's experts take care of Red Teaming.

FAQ

What is red teaming and why do you need it?

Red teaming is a process of cybersecurity testing where a group plays the role of a cyber attacker and attempts to breach an organization's cyber defenses. Red teaming is always practiced in strictly controlled environments, and the attack strategy varies depending on the reason behind the test and the existing security measures.

Organizations use red teaming security in an attempt to uncover infrastructural weaknesses and information leaks, test the integrity of the employees, and their security measures. It helps them gain an unbiased perspective of what they may be doing wrong and probe for system vulnerabilities.

Why is it called a red team?

The red color is often associated with hostility and fits the group that is supposed to play the role of the target’s adversary. Opposing the red teams are blue teams. Similar to police officers wearing blue uniforms, the purpose of blue teams is to detect and disrupt the efforts of red teams.

Some sources indicate that the term ‘red team’ was coined in video games. The invaders in video games typically belong to the red team while the defenders are usually blue. In cybersecurity, threats and viruses are normally shown as red icons; on military radars, enemy machines and aircraft are red blips.

What are red team tactics?

Red team tactics refer to strategies deployed by the red team to fulfill the security testing challenge. Depending on the target, these tactics may involve causing confusion, targeting employees to solicit private information, simulating an attack on the infrastructure, and more. The organization that hires the red team usually sets the target and a set of missions. The red team then decides which tactic is best suited for the task. Red teams often use special equipment to orchestrate cyber attacks against which the target cannot defend itself.

What is red teaming and blue teaming?

Blue teams are in-house cybersecurity teams that are meant to counter the attacking attempts of the red team. Blue teams are familiar with the system they are designed to protect, but in most cases, they do not know anything about the red team. Sometimes, blue teams are aware that a red team has been deployed, but they do not know when the attack is going to happen. Sudden, unplanned attacks test the blue team on their preparedness in case of real attacks. The blue team performs several tasks such as continuous system analysis and improvement, deployment of countermeasures, and advanced monitoring systems that can detect the infiltrating red team on time.

What are the benefits of red teaming?

Red team services typically yield more unbiased results than regular pen testing. When a team of professionals is tasked to attack the target with no restraints, they will try their hardest to defeat the system. Deploying a red team is likely to boost the productivity of the in-house blue team as well. Under standard circumstances, the blue team’s job is to work on improving existing defenses. When faced with a real threat, they have to be more creative and proactive to preserve and shield the target.

One of the ultimate benefits of red teaming is the discovery of minor vulnerabilities that may have been overlooked in other pen testing efforts.The accumulation of numerous smaller problems could potentially disrupt a system that was believed to be in pristine condition. Red teaming does not always revolve around ethical hacking; any and all vulnerabilities are viable targets, and each bug is prone to exploits.

What is a purple team?

A purple team is a group comprised of red and blue teams. Under normal circumstances, the goal of the red team cyber security is to overcome the defenses of the blue team and discover exploitable vulnerabilities. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the blue team that needs to think proactively in terms of creating an impenetrable fortress around critical infrastructure while reinforcing other key points in the system. The once warring sides are collaborators in the purple team. By sharing information from largely different perspectives, the purple team can laser-focus on developing solutions instead of finding new ways to outwit the opposite side.

Red team members divulge their tactics and impart knowledge regarding technologies they may are using. This allows the blue team to focus on developing more efficient countermeasures, as time is not wasted on threat discovery and research. Red team members are guiding the blue team to their targets, explaining how they would attack them. At the same time, blue team members explain the defenses of the system and their threat discovery strategies. Simultaneously, the knowledge and experience of both teams grow while the organization benefits from improved system defenses.

What is a red team analyst?

A red team IT security analyst represents the red team while working alongside the blue team. The main job of a red team analyst is to understand how red team members think, see the patterns in which they are attacking, and understand the red team pen testing technology they are using.

The position of a red team analyst is typically reserved for the most skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced individuals. This position is invaluable to the success of the blue team, as a good analyst has the ability to not only counter, but halt the red team in its tracks.

Who invented red teaming?

The origins of the red teaming date back to ancient times, although it was practiced under various different names. Red teams would scout the fortifications of castles, attempting to find hidden passages and wall cracks while blue teams were essentially guards. In modern history, red teaming was originally deployed by the military. Experts in military backgrounds were needed to discover information leaks, errors in judgment, and flaws of certain strategies. Militaries across the world employed red team IT security experts, civilian medical staff, freelance pilots, and people with different backgrounds to gain a new perspective that they could leverage into their offensive and defensive battle plans.

Are you interested in Red Teaming?

Do you have questions about our offers or an individual request?
Please do not hesitate to contact us.

We are looking forward to your message.

E-Mail: [email protected]