Assurance

Red Team Assessment

A red team approach has a far wider scope than penetration testing and provides a deeper insight into your organisation’s resilience and response to a cyber attack.

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What is Red Team Security Assessment?

Red team security assessment, also known as red teaming, is a method used to evaluate and test the security measures of an organisation, system, or network. It involves simulating real-world attacks and employing adversarial tactics to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses that could be exploited by malicious actors.

The red team, which consists of skilled and experienced security professionals, assumes the role of the attacker. Their objective is to assess the effectiveness of an organisation’s defensive measures and provide valuable insights into potential security gaps.

Red team assessments go beyond traditional vulnerability scanning or penetration testing. They involve a comprehensive and holistic approach to uncover vulnerabilities across different layers of an organisation, including people, processes, and technology. Red team activities may include social engineering, physical breaches, application exploits, network intrusion, and more.

Dionach’s red team security assessment is designed to offer organisations the highest level of assurance that their most critical assets are secure, and pinpoint where processes need to be tightened up.

In contrast to penetration testing which focuses on system-specific vulnerabilities, red team testing is a stringent assessment of security across all domains, for instance scrutinising whether intellectual property can be stolen and whether customer contact lists, personally identifiable information and payment details are adequately secured.

Our technical experts go the extra mile to mirror the whole range of techniques currently being used by attackers.

Planning and Scoping

The red team collaborates with the organisation to define the objectives, scope, and rules of engagement for the assessment. They gather information about the target systems, networks, and the organisation’s overall security posture. This phase helps ensure that the assessment aligns with the organisation’s goals and focuses on the areas of highest risk.

Reconnaissance

The red team conducts reconnaissance to gather information about the target organisation. This may involve passive techniques like open-source intelligence (OSINT) gathering, analysing publicly available information, or actively probing the target’s infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the target’s systems, network architecture, and potential entry points.

Threat Modeling

Based on the information gathered during reconnaissance, the red team identifies and prioritises potential attack vectors and threats. They analyse vulnerabilities, misconfiguration, and weaknesses in systems, applications, or processes that could be exploited. This phase helps the red team develop an effective attack strategy tailored to the organisation’s specific environment.

Exploitation

The red team simulates attacks and attempts to exploit the identified vulnerabilities. They may use various techniques, such as social engineering, phishing, network attacks, or application exploits. The goal is to gain unauthorised access, escalate privileges, and move deeper into the target environment. The red team leverages their expertise to bypass security controls and demonstrate the potential impact of successful attacks.

Post-exploitation

Once the red team gains initial access, they focus on expanding their presence within the target environment. They move laterally through the network, attempting to gain access to sensitive data or critical systems. This phase helps assess the organisation’s ability to detect and respond to intrusions and to determine the extent of the damage an attacker could cause if undetected.

Reporting

After the assessment, the red team prepares a detailed report documenting their findings, methodologies, and recommendations. The report highlights the vulnerabilities discovered, the techniques used, and potential impacts. It also includes actionable recommendations to help the organisation improve its security defences. A debriefing session is conducted with the organisation’s stakeholders to discuss the findings and ensure a clear understanding of the assessment’s outcomes.

Red team assessments replicate the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by cyber criminals, helping organisations understand how they might be targeted in real-life situations.

Unlike traditional penetration testing, red teaming uncovers hidden weaknesses in both technical systems and human processes. It goes beyond identifying known vulnerabilities to expose how an attacker might exploit gaps.

Red team assessments test not only technical defenses but also the effectiveness of staff training, security policies, and communication channels during a cyber attack.

For industries that require advanced threat simulations (e.g., financial institutions under DORA or similar frameworks), a Red Team Security Assessment helps meet regulatory standards and best practices.

The insights gained from a red team exercise can help strengthen overall security posture, ensuring your organisation is better equipped to withstand sophisticated attacks.

Red Team Assessment

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