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What is Red Teaming?
A large, successful and profitable business is always of interest to both customers and competitors. However, there is another invisible group that closely monitors such businesses – hackers!
The business manager and IT security director do not know when hackers will attack and which goals they will pursue! Maybe such an attack will never happen, or maybe it’s happening right now, while you’re reading this article.
No one knows how well their business’s cyber defence systems are working until a real, powerful and well-thought-out hacker attack occurs.
This unpleasant event can provide answers to the following questions:
Why wait for a real hacker attack? The answers to these questions can be obtained by commissioning the services of a professional team, usually called the Red Team.
How is Red Teaming carried out?
Red Teaming services are usually ordered by the company’s management to verify the effectiveness of cyber defences and to demonstrate the behaviour and measures taken by the security team. A minimal number of employees know about this service. The task of the security service is to quickly detect an attack and then investigate incidents. Everything should be organised in such a way that everyone is convinced that a real hacker attack is taking place.
During the Red Teaming project, an attack is simulated, which is particularly natural and close to real conditions. The team of editors is not restricted in achieving their goals; they can do whatever they want, as long as they achieve the goal.
The Red Team acts like a hacker group, collecting information from open sources and the darknet. They find even the most complex security vulnerabilities, hack into companies using various methods and try not to be detected. The goal may be to gain administrative access to the infrastructure, extract databases, or access the accounting system.
The Red Team hides, prepares tools and develops a methodology for a specific task. For phishing emails, a domain can be purchased in advance, and tools such as VPNs and proxies can be prepared to hide the real IP address for each request. The scanners are configured in such a way that the internal security team does not notice the scan or suspect that it is a targeted attack.
The Red Team does not have a detailed understanding of the IT infrastructure configuration or a detailed list of vulnerabilities. The techniques used by Red Team include social engineering, electronic and physical pentests, and all the methods commonly used for security assessments.
What is the difference between Red Teaming and Pentesting?
At first glance, Red Teaming and Pentesting are two very similar services. So you might wonder why a company would spend money on a Red Teaming project if it can commission a pentest that is faster and much cheaper. However, there is a significant difference.
The pentest is designed to identify the maximum number of vulnerabilities and find areas in the infrastructure where hackers can attack. Red Teaming is a simulation of hacker attacks aimed at achieving a set of specific goals. For instance, an attack by employees to gain access to protected corporate data or a specific system, or to commit data theft.
Red Teaming requires more people, resources, and time because it goes deeper to fully understand the real level of risks and vulnerabilities in the infrastructure. It is necessary to understand how the company’s employees will react and what decisions they will take during an attack.
The Red Team must be able to analyse a huge amount of information, keep up to date with the latest innovations in cyber defence, and be able to apply the tools and tricks of real hackers. The main skill is the ability to think like a hacker while remaining an honest and decent person.
During its work, the Red Team:
What are the goals of Red Teaming?
Performing a simulated hacker attack is a complex process, and therefore you need to define the same goals as the hacker group.
The Red Team defines the following goals for themselves:
The achievement of these goals is necessary to achieve the main goal – improving cybersecurity processes to minimise the risks of a real hacker attack.
What does the customer receive as a result of Red Teaming?
Red Teaming provides the following results:
A real, not theoretical, assessment of the readiness of information security staff to face real hacker attacks; testing the ability to detect a carefully disguised attack.
Assessment of the effectiveness of specific information security systems, solutions, and controls.
Recommendations for improvement (hardening), event monitoring, incident response and many other information security processes and mechanisms.
How often should Red Teaming be conducted?
The frequency of Red Teaming depends on the specific needs and risks of each business.
For businesses operating in industries with a large amount of confidential information (e.g. banking, healthcare, retail chains), more frequent Red Teaming is recommended, for example, annually or even more often. This will help to ensure that cybersecurity systems are maintained at a high level at all times.
In less risky areas, the frequency may be lower, but it is important to conduct a risk assessment and review the frequency of Red Teaming, especially after important changes to the company’s business processes or infrastructure.
Which types of businesses need to conduct regular Red Teaming?
The answer is obvious: all types of businesses that may face financial and reputational risks as a result of a successful hacker attack.
Those business sectors include:
banks and financial institutions
critical infrastructure enterprises
telecommunications companies
logistic centres
commercial and industrial companies
e-commerce
marketplaces
internet providers
start-ups
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Which types of businesses need to conduct regular Red Teaming?
The answer is obvious: all types of businesses that may face financial and reputational risks as a result of a successful hacker attack.
Those business sectors include:
In conclusion…
Red Teaming is not just another cybersecurity service; it is a serious investment in the success and prosperity of your business.
Sooner or later, every manager faces a question: Who will be the first to test the cyber defences of your business – a professional Red Team or real hackers?
The answer to this question depends on your approach to investing in your company’s future!