In the world of cybersecurity, it’s common to talk about Red Teams and Blue Teams. But what do these terms actually mean? Where do they come from? And more importantly, why are both essential?
Now that AXS Guard has joined forces with Approach Cyber, we’d like to take a closer look at the world of offensive and defensive security. Why?
Because AXS Guard's traditional focus has always been on the defensive side, namely the Blue Team. Thanks to our merger with Approach Cyber, we can now also offer Red Team services. This significantly expands our expertise and, ultimately, strengthens the overall security posture of our customers.
Where do the terms “Red” and “Blue” come from?
The Red vs Blue concept is borrowed directly from military wargaming.
In military simulations, the enemy or aggressor is traditionally referred to as the Red Force. Its role is to attack, infiltrate, and emulate the objectives of an opposing adversary.
Opposing them is the Blue Force, representing the defending side. Its task is to protect its territory, detect Red Force activity, and respond to or neutralize attacks.
These clearly defined roles have proven so effective for testing and improving military strategy that the cybersecurity field has adopted them with great success.
The Red Team: Thinking Like the Attacker
The Red Team consists of offensive security experts who adopt the mindset of attackers. Their philosophy is simple: “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and we’re going to find that link. ” Red Team members are also known as ethical hackers (or "White Hat hackers").
Goal: The main goal of a Red Team is not merely to “hack” something, but to simulate the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of real malicious actors in order to test and attempt to bypass an organization’s defenses. They aim to answer questions such as: “What are possible attack vectors ?” and “What is the likelihood of a successful attack?"
Tactics: Red Teams use a wide range of methods and techniques, which they often combine in creative ways:
- Social Engineering: Consists of phishing and spear-phishing simulations, vishing (voice-based social engineering), or attempts to gain physical access to a building. Such simulations are often part of broader awareness and sensibilisation programs for employees.
- Scanning & Intelligence Gathering (OSINT – Open Source Intelligence): The aim is to search the internet, scour public data sources, and social media for information about a company, its employees, and its technology stack.
- Penetration Testing (External & Internal): These are authorized attempts to breach systems, often starting externally (e.g., targeting public websites or servers). If a breach is successful, the Red Team will then focus on lateral movement and try to escalate privileges to access an organization’s most valuable assets or “crown jewels” .
- System Exploitation: The goal is to detect unpatched systems or unknown vulnerabilities and attempt to exploit them.
For additional information, see our overview of possible syber threats. The final deliverable is a detailed report that not only identifies vulnerabilities but also demonstrates how these weaknesses can be exploited to cause real damage.
The Blue Team: Defenders of the Fort
The Blue Team is the defensive backbone of any cybersecurity strategy. If you’ve ever worked with firewalls, antivirus solutions, or security monitoring tools, you’ve already been involved in Blue Team activities.
Goal: Simply put, the Blue Team’s mission is to protect an organization. They harden systems and monitor networks for suspicious activity around the clock. When a potential incident is detected, they respond quickly and effectively to limit damage and thwart lateral movement.
Tactics: The Blue Team works around the clock and relies on a defensive, often reactive, set of tools and practices:
- Detectie & Monitoring: They manage and monitor solutions such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) to detect anomalous or malicious behavior..
- Incident Response (IR): They maintain detailed playbooks for when things go wrong. Who does what during a ransomware attack? How is the threat processed and contained? How is recovery handled?
- Hardening: They ensure systems are configured securely, that patches are applied promptly, and that networks are locked down.
- Threat Hunting: Rather than waiting passively, they proactively scour logs, endpoints, and network traffic for traces of potential intrusions or suspicious behavior.
The synergy of Red and Blue: Purple
This is where things get truly interesting and it goes to the heart of who we are as a company.
- A Blue Team that is never properly put to the test can develop a false sense of security. They may invest in expensive tools and assume they are safe, but are they certain that their SIEM is actually capable of detecting an advanced attack?
- A Red Team operating on its own without a Blue Team often delivers reports that end up in a drawer. They demonstrate that the house could burn down, but no one installs the smoke detectors or practices the evacuation plan.
True cyber resilience can only be achieved when the two teams work together.
This collaboration is often called Purple Teaming. It’s not a separate team, but a process: The Red Team launches an attack and the Blue Team attempts to detect it in real time. Immediately afterward, both teams sit together and review:
- Red: “I used technique X to gain access. ”
- Blue: “Interesting. I didn’t see that one coming. Why not? Let’s adjust our detection rules right away. ”
This direct feedback loop is the fastest and most efficient way to make an organization truly more cyberresilient. It not only tests the technology, but also the processes and the people behind them.
Conclusion: Transitioning from Defense to Verified Security
Historically, our organization has focused heavily on preventing security breaches, in other words, on defense. But thanks to our merger with Approach Cyber, we can now offer a full spectrum of security services. We are no longer just building the fort; we are also employing highly skilled ethical hackers to test its walls.
By providing both Red Team and Blue Team services, we enable our customers to achieve a significantly higher level of cyber security and resilience.
Learn more about our approach to:
Red Team vs. Blue Team: The attackers and the defenders