Move Beyond a Traditional Penetration Test
A penetration test identifies exploitable weaknesses within a defined scope. Red and purple team engagements show how far a simulated attack can progress before your controls and security team detect and contain it.
Red Team or Purple Team?
The right approach depends on whether you want to measure current defensive performance or work directly with your defenders to improve it.
Red Team Engagements
Best for measuring defensive readiness under realistic conditions
Our offensive security team works toward a defined objective while your defenders may receive limited advance information. This tests whether your security team detects, investigates, and contains simulated attacker activity.
Purple Team Engagements
Best for improving detection, response, and team coordination
Our red team works alongside your blue team to test selected attacker techniques, review alerts, adjust security controls, and improve response procedures during the engagement.
What Red and Purple Team
Engagements Can Assess
Initial
Access
Identity and
Access Controls
Privilege Escalation
and Lateral Movement
Endpoint and
Network Defenses
Detection
and Alerting
Investigation
and Response
Our Red and Purple Team Engagement Process
Define the Scope
and Objectives
We confirm the objectives, approved systems, testing boundaries, timing, safety controls, communication procedures, and conditions that would pause the exercise.
Build
the Scenario
We build the scenario around your environment, business risks, and the techniques we select for testing.
Execute
the Engagement
Our offensive security team performs the approved attack simulation. During a purple team engagement, our practitioners work directly with your defenders throughout testing.
Review
the Results
We review the attack path, access obtained, controls encountered, alerts generated, and response actions taken.
Improve
and Validate
Your team receives prioritized recommendations to address control gaps and improve detection and response. Targeted follow-up testing can confirm that selected changes work as intended.
Reporting Built for Action
Your report shows how the attack progressed, what your team detected, where controls fell short, and which improvements should come first. Leadership receives a concise summary, while security and IT teams receive the technical evidence needed to strengthen controls and response procedures.
When Red and Purple Team Engagements
Are the Right Fit
A red or purple team engagement may be appropriate when your organization:
- Wants to test whether its security program works as expected during an attack
- Has established core security controls and is ready for a broader simulation
- Recently deployed new endpoint, identity, cloud, monitoring, or response capabilities
- Needs to evaluate defenses against specific attacker behaviors or business risks
- Seeks clearer insight into detection coverage, response timing, and team coordination
- Must show leadership or key stakeholders how well its defenses perform
Why CISO Global
Offensive
Security Experts
Testing Aligned
to Your Goals
Collaboration
With Defenders
Clear Reporting
and Next Steps
Evaluate Detection and Response Under Attack
See how your controls and security team perform during a coordinated attack and where detection and response need improvement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a red team engagement?
A red team engagement is an objective-based attack simulation that evaluates how well an organization prevents, detects, and responds to realistic attacker activity. The red team may combine several techniques to work toward a defined objective.
What is a purple team engagement?
A purple team engagement is a collaborative exercise involving offensive security practitioners and the organization’s defenders. The teams test specific attacker techniques, review how security controls respond, and identify opportunities to improve detection and response during the engagement.
How is a red team engagement different from a penetration test?
A penetration test typically focuses on finding and validating vulnerabilities within a defined group of systems or applications. A red team engagement works toward a broader objective and evaluates how security controls and defenders respond as the simulated attack progresses.
How do we choose between a red team and purple team engagement?
Choose a red team engagement to measure current defensive performance under realistic conditions. Choose a purple team engagement to improve detection coverage, tune security tools, and give defenders hands-on experience.
Will the engagement disrupt our operations?
We plan testing around the approved objectives, systems, schedule, and rules of engagement. CISO Global coordinates with designated stakeholders and establishes safety procedures before testing begins to reduce operational risk.
When is an organization ready for a red team engagement?
A red team engagement is typically most useful when an organization has established foundational security controls and wants to evaluate how well those controls and its security team perform against a realistic attack. Organizations that are still addressing fundamental vulnerabilities may benefit from penetration testing first.
Can an engagement simulate ransomware activity?
Yes. Within agreed safety boundaries, the exercise can emulate credential misuse, privilege escalation, lateral movement, and attempts to reach critical systems. Testing does not involve encrypting or damaging production data.