Red Team & Adversary Emulation
Objective-based adversary emulation across relevant digital, human and physical attack vectors, mapped to MITRE ATT&CK and focused on prevention, detection and response outcomes.
A penetration test answers “is this system vulnerable?”. A red team answers a harder question: “if a capable adversary set out to compromise us, would we stop them — and would we even know?” We run goal-driven, full-scope engagements that emulate a real threat actor end to end, mapped to MITRE ATT&CK: gaining initial access, establishing persistence, escalating privileges, moving laterally and reaching defined objectives such as a sensitive dataset, a production system or domain control.
Engagements are tightly authorised and managed under agreed operational-security and safety controls. Testing can begin externally or from an agreed internal foothold when the priority is to assess lateral movement, privilege escalation, segmentation, detection and response.
Deliverables include an executive attack narrative, a technical activity timeline, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, detection and response observations and a prioritised hardening plan. The methodology also provides the technical foundation for regulated TLPT engagements.
- MITRE ATT&CK
- every technique mapped across the attack chain
- TIBER-EU
- supports TIBER-EU-aligned DORA TLPT
How it works
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01
Objectives & rules of engagement
Agree crown-jewel objectives, scope, OPSEC constraints, authorisation and safety procedures.
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02
Reconnaissance & threat profiling
OSINT and intelligence to model a relevant threat actor and plan realistic attack paths.
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03
Initial access
Gain a foothold — or begin from an agreed assumed-breach position — covertly and safely.
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04
Lateral movement & objectives
Escalate privileges, move laterally and pursue defined objectives while measuring detection.
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05
Detection & response validation
Assess what the blue team saw, missed and how they responded across the attack chain.
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06
Reporting & purple closure
Executive attack narrative, ATT&CK-mapped technical findings, hardening roadmap and collaborative debrief.
Packages
- Assumed Breach
- Focused internal engagement starting from a foothold to test lateral movement and detection.
- Full-Scope Red Team Popular
- End-to-end adversary emulation from initial access to objectives with detection validation.
- TLPT / Continuous
- TIBER-EU-aligned threat-led testing or a recurring adversary-emulation program.
Frequently asked questions
How is a red team engagement different from a penetration test?
A penetration test evaluates a defined technical scope within an agreed period and usually aims to identify and validate vulnerabilities. A red-team engagement is objective-led and may combine technical, human and physical attack paths to emulate a relevant adversary. A small trusted control group knows about the exercise, while defenders may remain unaware so detection and response can be measured. The primary output is an assessment of attack paths and defensive effectiveness, not only a list of vulnerabilities.
What is an assumed-breach engagement, and when should we choose it?
An assumed-breach engagement begins from an established foothold, such as a compromised workstation or valid user credentials, instead of spending part of the engagement obtaining initial access. It is appropriate when the priority is internal resilience: lateral movement, privilege escalation, segmentation and detection. Many organizations combine an external phase with an assumed-breach fallback to ensure the engagement tests internal controls even if perimeter access is not achieved within the available time.
Is it safe to run a red team against our production environment?
It can be performed safely only with disciplined authorisation and risk controls. We agree objectives, exclusions, data-handling rules, escalation contacts, stop conditions and prohibited actions before testing. A trusted controller on the client side can pause or redirect activity at any time. Residual risk remains and must be accepted explicitly.
Does the red team work with our blue team, or stay hidden?
During the active phase, the red team normally remains covert so the defenders’ detection and response can be measured under realistic conditions. The engagement then closes with a structured debrief and, where agreed, a purple-team replay of selected techniques to improve detections and response procedures. If continuous collaboration is the objective from the start, a dedicated purple-team engagement is usually more suitable.
How does this relate to DORA and TIBER-EU threat-led testing?
Red teaming provides part of the technical methodology used in regulated Threat-Led Penetration Testing. For financial entities designated for TLPT under DORA, the engagement must also follow the applicable governance, provider, scope, reporting and authority-oversight requirements in the TLPT RTS and may use the updated TIBER-EU framework. Organisations outside that scope can use similar adversary-emulation methods without representing the exercise as a regulated TLPT.
Helpful tools
- Scope a test
Create a scoped brief in one minute
- Security maturity assessment
Assess your organization across six domains
All services
- Security Audits
Identify exploitable weaknesses and prioritise remediation.
- Social Engineering Assessment
Measure resilience to phishing, voice fraud and other social-engineering techniques.
- Purple Teaming
Validate and improve detection and response collaboratively.
Scope a test
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