{"id":11165,"date":"2021-04-27T09:23:30","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T16:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/?p=11165"},"modified":"2023-09-28T00:14:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T07:14:04","slug":"red-teaming-blue-teaming-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/cybersecurity\/red-teaming-blue-teaming-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Cybersecurity 101: What’s the Difference Between Red Team vs. Blue Team?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many cybersecurity tactics are inspired by military wargaming, but none more so than red teaming and blue teaming. A form of ethical hacking, red teaming and blue teaming involve companies hiring highly trained cybersecurity experts to infiltrate their computer systems, networks, and servers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point of hiring an ethical hacker is to strengthen the organization\u2019s cybersecurity defenses by finding and remediating weaknesses during a simulated attack, and create incident response plans that align with real-world conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is red teaming?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Red teaming is a method developed by the German military in the 19th century. Initially, military officials used a board game consisting of terrain pieces and battle tokens to simulate battle sequences. The idea was to get a better command of unpredictable events (known as \u201cfrictions\u201d) in military conflict. In modern cybersecurity<\/a>, red teaming is a full-blown multi-layered attack simulation designed to measure how well an organization\u2019s computer networks, software applications, and physical security controls can withstand an attack from a real cybercriminal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Red<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While penetration testing focuses on a predefined scope of attack (such as testing certain applications or operating systems) while minimizing service interruptions, red teaming is a no-holds-barred approach leveraging social engineering as well as physical, application, and network penetration. In fact, the physical aspect includes testing security assets like motion sensors and cameras, data centers, and warehouses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRed teams look for any way in and that can mean doing anything, even impersonating a pizza delivery guy and walking into somebody\u2019s office,\u201d said Anand Mohabir, founder and CEO of Elteni, a cybersecurity consulting firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is blue teaming?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some organizations will also hire a \u201cblue team\u201d<\/a> of defensive security professionals who are responsible for maintaining internal network defenses against attacks. Red teams simulate attacks against blue teams to test the network\u2019s security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of these cybersecurity exercises is twofold:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Avoid reputational or revenue-based damage (the average cost of a single cyber-attack is $1.1 million<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Protect an organization\u2019s most valuable assets, such as computer systems, intellectual property, or trade secrets <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Red teaming is labor-intensive and costly (outsourcing a high-quality red team costs roughly $250 an hour<\/a>), so this type of cybersecurity testing tends to be done in high-security industries that provide essential services, like utility companies that generate gas, electric, water, and nuclear power. What\u2019s more, seeing as cybercriminals are quick to form new attack strategies, red teaming must be done at regular intervals in order to be effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI\u2019ve never seen any official stats on this, but based on my own experiences, government agencies do it the most,\u201d said Mark Adams, a cybersecurity consultant and mentor for Springboard\u2019s Cyber Security Career Track<\/a>. \u201cBeyond that, it\u2019s mostly companies that have high risk profiles such as banks and financial institutions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

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    Eric Rivera<\/p>

    IAM Security Specialist at Dearborn Group<\/p><\/div>

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    Cyber Threat Analyst at Trustwave Government Solutions<\/p><\/div>

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    Cybersecurity Analyst at Accenture<\/p><\/div>

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    What is the difference between red teaming and penetration testing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Penetration testing is when an organization carries out a simulated cyberattack to test its security defenses. A legal contract is drawn up stipulating the scope of the attack and terms of engagement, and every step is carefully planned out. In other words, it\u2019s like a scheduled fire drill, where people are apprised on what to expect ahead of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Related Read: 12 Best Penetration Testing Courses & Certificates<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Red teaming, on the other hand, is an anything-goes full-scale attack on an organization, which, just like a real cyberattack, isn\u2019t conveniently scheduled to happen on a Saturday or confined only to a specific type of attack. Once an attacker is in the system, they typically use privilege escalation techniques<\/strong>, where they attempt to steal the credentials of an administrator who has access to critical information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Red team exercise examples<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Red teams start by gathering information about the target\u2019s technology stack. They\u2019ll start by uncovering which operating systems are in use (eg: Windows, macOS or Linux), each of which have their own weaknesses, identifying the make and model of networking equipment (servers, firewalls, switches, routers, access points, computers). Using this information, they\u2019ll create a map of the network to determine what hosts are running which services, and where traffic is being sent. If they plan to perpetrate a physical attack in-person, such as stealing a hard drive, rather than mounting a remote attack, they\u2019ll also investigate what physical controls are in place such as doors, locks, cameras and security personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n