If you’re not entirely new to the world of cybersecurity, you’ve probably heard the words penetration testing and red teaming. These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they are, in fact, two completely different things. In this article, we will explain what red teaming and penetration testing is and how you can choose which option better suits your company.
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What is penetration testing?
Penetration testing has become very common in most fields of business and today it is considered to be a necessary measure by most companies. During penetration testing, a team of cybersecurity experts examines your company’s servers, wireless networks, devices and cyber practices from the point of view of a potential attacker and discovers all existing vulnerabilities. Once penetration testing is completed, the penetration testing company presents a report that contains information about all vulnerabilities that hackers can potentially exploit, how the attack would be carried out, how your cybersecurity protocols and practices would hold up and the potential scale of a security breach. Penetration testing can be carried out automatically to save time and money, but manual testing is preferred for maximum efficiency. The bottom line is that even if you think that your company doesn’t need penetration testing because it doesn’t have any sensitive information or client data, a security breach can still halt your operations for several hours and even days, costing you thousands of dollars.
What is red teaming and how does it compare to penetration testing?
While the goal of penetration testing is to find as many potential security vulnerabilities and threats as possible, the goal of red teaming is to take a more nuanced approach and to plan focused attacks that exploit hidden vulnerabilities. Red teaming is often more expensive than penetration testing and involves more people. Typically, penetration testing is done first to identify most security issues. Then, once these issues are fixed, a company can take advantage of red teaming services to identify remaining security flaws that may not be obvious during regular penetration testing. Red teaming puts final touches on a company’s cybersecurity practices, bringing the risk of security breaches and attacks to an absolute minimum.
What does a red team assessment include?
During a red team penetration test, a cybersecurity company examines a company’s hardware, software, networks, and other components to determine physical, human, and digital vulnerabilities. Then, they provide a detailed and realistic assessment of your company’s cybersecurity risks and help to fix vulnerabilities to minimize security risks.
Advantages of red teaming
- Red teaming allows IT personnel to test the security of networks, applications, and systems against possible attacks from threat actors.
- Red teaming helps improve the overall security of your applications.
- Red teaming and penetration testing are often required to maintain compliance with government standards set for different industries.
- Red teaming allows experts to analyze the security of the entire IT infrastructure as opposed to different applications and networks.
- Red teaming results can be used to educate employees and create better cybersecurity procedures and standards for the organization or company.
Alternatives to red teaming services offered by cyber security companies
Just like jobs in most other fields, cybersecurity tasks are quickly becoming automated. Today, there are several companies that offer red teaming as a cloud-based service that costs significantly cheaper than full-on red teaming exercises conducted by a team of professionals. While these red teaming platforms certainly can’t match the results provided by a team of experienced professionals, they allow companies with smaller budgets to continuously monitor their cyber defenses using the software, while bringing in third-party red teaming and penetration testing teams once or twice a year for comprehensive evaluations.
One of the companies that provide the most advanced red teaming services is Randori. Unlike other platforms that use simulated threats to test cyber security defenses, Randori uses real attacks that utilize recently discovered vulnerabilities in commonly used software and emerging trends in the hacking community.
Advantages of red teaming
- Red teaming allows IT personnel to test the security of networks, applications, and systems against possible attacks from threat actors.
- Red teaming helps improve the overall security of your applications.
- Red teaming and penetration testing are often required to maintain compliance with government standards set for different industries.
- Red teaming allows experts to analyze the security of the entire IT infrastructure as opposed to different applications and networks.
- Red teaming results can be used to educate employees and create better cybersecurity procedures and standards for the organization or company.
Alternatives to red teaming services offered by cyber security companies
Just like jobs in most other fields, cybersecurity tasks are quickly becoming automated. Today, there are several companies that offer red teaming as a cloud-based service that costs significantly cheaper than full-on red teaming exercises conducted by a team of professionals. While these red teaming platforms certainly can’t match the results provided by a team of experienced professionals, they allow companies with smaller budgets to continuously monitor their cyber defenses using the software, while bringing in third-party red teaming and penetration testing teams once or twice a year for comprehensive evaluations.
One of the companies that provide the most advanced red teaming services is Randori. Unlike other platforms that use simulated threats to test cyber security defenses, Randori uses real attacks that utilize recently discovered vulnerabilities in commonly used software and emerging trends in the hacking community.
FAQ
Do you need to conduct red team exercises often?
Yes, it’s not enough to conduct a red teaming exercise just once, you need to repeat the procedure frequently to ensure that new updates of your applications and systems didn’t introduce new vulnerabilities. Red teaming exercises should be carried out continuously as you roll out new updates or make changes to your systems and applications.
Who should use red teaming services?
Red teaming services are necessary for all companies, organizations, and agencies that want to ensure that they are not vulnerable to hacking attempts. Just like penetration testing, redteaming is essential for avoiding potential large financial losses, reputational damage, and legal liability that may occur as a result of a security breach caused by threat actors.
Is penetration testing the same as red teaming?
No, while both of these cyber security tools are used for vulnerability assessment purposes, red teaming is more nuanced and aimed at exposing issues that were not uncovered by penetration testing.
Can you use software to do red teaming exercises?
Yes, SaaS platforms such as Randori allow companies to run automated red teaming exercises where their cyber defenses are tested using emerging trends in the world of hacking. While automated red teaming is significantly cheaper, exercises conducted by professionals provide more thorough results.
Do you need to conduct red team exercises often?
Yes, it’s not enough to conduct a red teaming exercise just once, you need to repeat the procedure frequently to ensure that new updates of your applications and systems didn’t introduce new vulnerabilities. Red teaming exercises should be carried out continuously as you roll out new updates or make changes to your systems and applications.
Who should use red teaming services?
Red teaming services are necessary for all companies, organizations, and agencies that want to ensure that they are not vulnerable to hacking attempts. Just like penetration testing, redteaming is essential for avoiding potential large financial losses, reputational damage, and legal liability that may occur as a result of a security breach caused by threat actors.
Is penetration testing the same as red teaming?
No, while both of these cyber security tools are used for vulnerability assessment purposes, red teaming is more nuanced and aimed at exposing issues that were not uncovered by penetration testing.
Can you use software to do red teaming exercises?
Yes, SaaS platforms such as Randori allow companies to run automated red teaming exercises where their cyber defenses are tested using emerging trends in the world of hacking. While automated red teaming is significantly cheaper, exercises conducted by professionals provide more thorough results.
