What is a red team in cybersecurity?
The term ‘red team’ refers to a group of cybersecurity professionals who act as hackers, trying to breach security and exploit network vulnerabilities to gain access to systems. Red teams often use all the resources available to them to identify weaknesses in technology, security practices and even groups of employees in a given company.
Frequently asked questions about the blue team and red team hacking
What services do red teams perform?
Red teams typically perform penetration tests, carry out social engineering and phishing attacks on employees of a given company (in agreement with the company leadership, of course).
What services do blue teams perform?
The broad goal of any blue team is to protect an organization or a business from cyber attacks. This can include conducting DNS audits, installing security software on devices, updating antivirus software, setting up IPS and IDS software, etc.
What is a purple team in cybersecurity?
Whenever a red team and a blue team work on the same project, it’s important to ensure that both teams work toward the same goal of protecting the company from external and internal threats. To do this, it’s crucial to ensure robust communication and cooperation between the two teams. This is where a purple team can come in – the goal of a purple team is to foster communication and enhanced information sharing between the two teams.
What is a blue team in cybersecurity?
Unlike a red team that performs the offensive role in cybersecurity, a blue team performs the defensive role, protecting the company from cyber-attacks. Blue teams typically have a deep insight into the company’s cybersecurity assets, business practices and its most valuable information and services.
Advantages of red teams and blue teams working together
While both red and blue teams perform completely different tasks, each team alone can’t give you full cybersecurity protection. On the other hand, when the two teams work together, they can maximize the benefits for your company – the red team can identify current vulnerabilities in the system, while the blue team can patch those vulnerabilities and ensure long-term cyber protection for your business. Having the two teams work together also adds a certain degree of competitiveness, allowing both teams to realize their full potential.
