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With the threat of cyber attacks looming large over all organisations, cybersecurity has emerged as an essential component of business operations. As organisations race to identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by cyber criminals, Red Team vs Blue Team exercises have an important role to play.
The Red Team vs. Blue Team concept is rooted in military strategies and has been adopted by the cybersecurity community. It revolves around two teams simulating real-world attack scenarios to assess an organisation's security posture.
The Red Team, or offensive team, assumes the role of the adversary, attempting to breach an organisation’s security defence. The objective of the Red security team is to identify vulnerabilities, exploit weaknesses and gain access to the network. They can employ a wide range of tactics, techniques, and procedures, designed to mimic the actions of real hackers, including social engineering, penetration testing, and vulnerability scanning.
Team Blue defends the target organisation's infrastructure and assets. They work diligently to detect and respond to any attacks launched by the Red Team. Their goal is to prevent successful breaches of the internal network and mitigate the impact of any cyber intrusions, and ultimately to identify any improvements in security controls that are needed.
Engaging in a simulated cyber attack can have several benefits for organisations. The Red and Blue team each play an important role in identifying vulnerabilities, strengths, and areas for improvement. If an organisation has glaring security gaps, it can put in place enhanced security controls in areas like network security before any weaknesses are exploited by real-world criminals.
During a Red Team vs. Blue Team exercise, the Red Team employs various attack vectors to try and infiltrate the organisation's network. The Red Team plays the role of a threat actor, and a Red Team member may use phishing emails to trick employees into revealing sensitive information, or they may exploit software vulnerabilities to gain unauthorised access.
Meanwhile, a Blue Team works in a rigorous manner to deploy advanced security measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and security information and event management (SIEM) tools to detect and respond to the Red Team.
A Red Team exercise will often involve a range of participants, including cybersecurity professionals, network administrators, and incident response teams. The two teams work together to create a realistic and challenging environment, pushing each other to improve their skills and knowledge.
The role that opposing teams play in such an exercise provides an opportunity for organisations to test their incident response capabilities. In the event of a successful breach by the Red Team, the defensive security professionals within the Blue Team must quickly and effectively respond to contain the incident, investigate the root cause, and restore normal operations. This helps organisations refine their incident response plans and enhance their ability to handle real-world security incidents.
Data on cyber attacks show troubling trends. More than two in 10 Australian businesses (22 per cent) experienced a cyber security attack during the 2021-22 financial year, compared to almost one in 10 (8 per cent) in 2019-20, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)¹. Not only are cyber-attacks becoming more common, but they are also increasingly expensive. The average cost of a data breach in Australia has grown 32% in the last five years, reaching AU$4.03 million per breach².
Meanwhile, data from New Zealand show a similar trend. While the number of incidents reported to CERT NZ, a government agency, was up 12% for the first quarter of 2023, the cost of incidents was up a massive 66%, with 30% of all incidents resulting in a direct financial loss. The average loss was NZ $5.8m.
With cyber criminals running sophisticated operations, organisations need to stay ahead of the curve and continuously strengthen their cybersecurity measures. A cybersecurity exercise is the ideal environment to test an organisation’s preparedness and response capabilities. By seeing how various attack scenarios play out, organisations can assess the effectiveness of their incident management procedures and their security system cyber security defences, as well as identify areas for improvement.
Where weaknesses in security systems and processes are identified, organisations can take proactive measures to address vulnerabilities, such as via security software or even physical security controls.
Cyber drills also enable organisations to evaluate their response capabilities, assess their incident management procedures, and identify gaps in their security frameworks.
Cybersecurity exercises also have other benefits. Aside from testing technical skills, exercises foster collaboration and communication among team members. Cyber defenders become well-versed in recognising potential security threats and practised in responding swiftly to incidents.
These exercises also provide an opportunity for organisations to train their employees in cybersecurity best practices, namely to respond to real-world attack techniques. With participation from employees from different departments, such as security personnel and even senior management involvement, organisations can raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and educate their workforce on how to identify and respond to potential threats. This holistic approach ensures that every individual within the organisation understands their role in maintaining a secure digital environment. After all, often it is the human element which is the weakest link in the cyber defences of an organisation.
Cybersecurity exercises should be regularly deployed. And as the scale and complexity of cyber attacks continues to evolve, exercises need to be updated to reflect the latest attack techniques and trends. That will help organisations continuously improve their cyber defences and security controls in a bid to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.
The primary objective of a Red Team is to identify vulnerabilities within an organisation’s cybersecurity defences, so that organisations can rectify security flaws before malicious actors exploit them. In practice, a Red Team will conduct simulated attacks, known as penetration testing, to evaluate security measures in place. The techniques used by Red Teams will usually mimic the tactics employed by real-world threat actors, including social engineering, network scanning and vulnerability exploitation. The Red Team tests an organisation’s cybersecurity defences and its security.
A successful and dedicated Red Team needs several attributes. They need a deep understanding of the latest cybersecurity threats and attack vectors to effectively simulate real-world scenarios. The Red Team consists of individuals with exceptional technical skills, including being proficient in various programming languages, network protocols, and operating systems. This expertise enables them to identify and exploit vulnerabilities across different layers of an organisation's infrastructure.
Red Teams may also be experts in social engineering, as Red Team members will often try to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential information, performing actions, or making security mistakes. Social engineering is often used by cybercriminals to bypass security measures and target individuals, rather than relying solely on technical exploits.
Effective communication skills are also crucial for the Red Team to clearly articulate their findings and recommendations to an organisation's stakeholders. This includes providing detailed reports that outline the vulnerabilities discovered, the potential impact of these vulnerabilities, and actionable steps to mitigate the risks.
Collaboration is another important aspect of a Red Team’s responsibilities. The Red and Blue Team often work closely together. By sharing their findings and insights, the Red Team helps the Blue Team develop its defensive strategies, strengthening the overall security posture of the organisation.
Finally, Red Team exercises must adhere to ethical guidelines and legal boundaries, similar to how independent ethical hackers operate. While their objective is to identify vulnerabilities within an organisation’s cybersecurity defences, Red Teams must do so within the agreed scope and without causing any harm to the organisation's systems or data. This requires a high level of professionalism and integrity.
During an exercise the Blue Team defends and protects an organisation's assets using all of their expertise. Blue Teams work to monitor network traffic for any suspicious activities and aim to detect the Red Team’s attacks, whether breaches or malicious behaviour, as early as possible.
The primary responsibilities include monitoring network traffic, investigating potential incidents, and responding to security alerts. The Blue Team consists of professionals who are able to utilise a variety of security tools and technologies to identify and mitigate threats in real-time. Team Blue must be prepared to put in place offensive security and preventive security control, as the Red Team attempts to gain access to the network environment.
Blue Teams also play a vital role in incident response and recovery efforts. The Blue Team works to analyse the attack vectors, identify the extent of compromise, and remediate any damage caused. By learning from each incident, Blue Teams strengthen the organisation's overall security posture.
The Purple Team concept is an amalgamation of the Red Teams and Blue Teams, fostering collaboration and cooperation between the two. The goal of the Purple Team is to facilitate communication and knowledge sharing between offensive and defensive teams.
The Purple Team approach involves the Red Team providing insights into their attack methods, and the Blue Team using this information to enhance their defensive capabilities. It's a way to ensure that the lessons learned from simulated attacks - especially where threat actors were able to gain access to key assets – are directly applied to improve the organisation's security defenses.
Key elements of a successful Purple Team exercise include:
With the primary purpose of a Purple Team being to foster collaboration between the offensive (Red Team) and defensive (Blue Team) security professionals, Purple Teams encourage joint efforts, ensuring that both offensive and defensive strategies align and complement each other. The Purple Team collaboration also facilitates knowledge sharing between the teams, allowing the Red and Blue Team members to understand each other’s tactics, techniques, and tools. This symbiotic relationship ensures a continuous improvement cycle, resulting in a robust cybersecurity posture.
A successful Purple Team should encourage continuous communication, allowing members of the Red Team to share the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) they employ with the Blue Team. This knowledge transfer enhances the ability of Team Blue to detect and respond to real-world threats.
A Purple Team should conduct scenario-based testing, where Red Team tactics are used to simulate real threats. This provides the Blue Team with practical experience in defending against specific attack methods.
Purple Teams use key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to assess the impact of joint efforts. This includes measuring the time it takes to detect and respond to simulated threats and evaluating the overall improvement in security posture over time.
A Purple Team will incorporate threat intelligence to emulate realistic threat scenarios. This ensures that both Red and Blue Teams are well-informed about current and emerging threats.
With the cybersecurity landscape constantly evolving, cybersecurity teams must stay constantly updated about the latest threats and attack vectors.
By keeping themselves informed about the latest industry trends, vulnerabilities, and attack techniques, and even the latest anti malware software, Red and Blue Teams can adapt their strategies accordingly. Continuous training, attending conferences, and participating in information-sharing initiatives are critical to maintaining a proactive stance.
Additionally, engaging with peer communities and collaborating with other organisations in the industry helps cybersecurity teams gain valuable insights and build a stronger defence against cyber threats.
Ultimately, the roles of Red and Blue Teams in cybersecurity are critical for safeguarding organisations against the ever-growing threat landscape. By leveraging the strengths of both teams and fostering collaboration, organisations can garner proactive insights, identify vulnerabilities, and fortify their defences. With cybersecurity threats continuing to evolve, staying informed and adaptable is key to ensure the ongoing security of organisational assets and infrastructure.
If you’d like to learn more about cybersecurity strategies, our team of experts are available to discuss with you how your organisation can assess and strengthen its overall cybersecurity posture. Talk to us today to find out how.
¹ https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/cyber-security-incidents-double-between-2019-20-and-2021-22
² https://securitybrief.com.au/story/cost-of-data-breach-in-australia-has-grown-32-in-5-years-ibm#:~:text=The%20top%20three%20industries%20with,country%20(AU%244.03%20million
Penetration testing and a Red Team test are both techniques used in the cyber security field, but with different objectives and approaches. Penetration testing aims to identify vulnerabilities in the system by simulating a real attack scenario and attempting to break into the system. Red teaming is a more comprehensive and strategic approach that involves a team of experts who mimic the behaviour of real hackers to evaluate the overall security posture of the organisation. Red teaming provides a more holistic view of an organisation's security posture and helps identify weaknesses that a penetration test may not uncover.
Threat intelligence plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of both Red and Blue Teams in cybersecurity. By leveraging such intelligence, Red Teams can mimic the latest threats and adapt their simulations to cover the most likely attack vectors targeting the organisation. Blue Team exercises need threat intelligence to stay abreast of emerging threats and to adapt their defensive strategies. Threat intelligence provides them with valuable insights into the latest trends in the threat landscape, including the types of attacks and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that threat actors are using.
Hackers are becoming more advanced, utilising intricate attack techniques that are challenging to detect and defend against. Cyber threats are dynamic, and new ones emerge every day. Team Blue members must be up to date with the latest threat intelligence and adapt their defence strategies continuously, while at the same time, budget constraints and limited resources can hamper Blue Teams' ability to invest in the latest security technologies and training programs, making them more vulnerable to attack. Another challenge is the severe shortage of individuals in the industry with the technical expertise required to detect and mitigate complex cyber attacks, which often makes building security teams challenging. Blue Teams work to counter cyber criminals who are continually devising new methods to gain access to an organisation's critical assets.
Organisations looking to build and maintain strong Red and Blue Teams should adopt best practices such as recruiting diverse talent, providing ongoing training and development, promoting a culture of collaboration, and regularly assessing and updating security measures. An organisation may need to carry out an evaluation of any core competencies that are missing or are needed, such as strong software development skills or needing to hire an offensive security certified professional. Furthermore, establishing clear communication channels, implementing a robust incident response plan, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and standards are critical. It is also important to foster a strong sense of accountability and responsibility among team members, as well as to prioritise the protection of critical assets and sensitive data.
Red and Blue Teams can ensure their actions comply with ethical and legal standards by following established guidelines and frameworks, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework and Ethical Hacker Code of Ethics. As they emulate real-world attackers, Red Teams should only use authorised methods and tools, and should obtain consent from all parties involved. Blue Teams must strictly adhere to compliance requirements and data privacy regulations during their defensive activities. It is imperative that both teams prioritise and uphold ethical standards.
