Red Team Objectives
The objective of any cybersecurity testing is to accurately simulate threats to an organization to determine the effectiveness of an organization’s defenses and identify any potential vulnerabilities and security risks. The role of the red team is to masquerade as the attacker, so their primary objective is to simulate the tools, techniques, and processes used by the simulated adversary as accurately as possible. Often, these masquerades are based on tools like the MITRE ATT&CK framework, which outlines various attack tactics and highlights the ones used by major cyber threat actors.
The Importance of the Red Team
Every organization’s cyber defenses will be tested eventually. It’s always better that this test occurs at the hands of a trusted party than a real attacker.
The red team is important to security testing because they simulate potential real-world threats to an organization’s cybersecurity. A good red team will accurately emulate a potential threat, providing an accurate assessment of an organization’s defenses against that threat. This assessment can then be used to develop and implement strategies for improving these defenses and reducing an organization’s vulnerability to real-world threats.
Services and Activities
- External and Internal Penetration Testing: We conduct thorough assessments of an organization’s external and internal infrastructure, identifying potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities that may be exploited by attackers.
- Vulnerability Assessment: Our red team performs vulnerability assessments, scanning systems for known vulnerabilities, and providing detailed reports to help organizations understand their security posture better.
- Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SSDLC): We offer guidance and support to organizations in implementing secure development practices throughout their software development life cycle.
- Web, Desktop, and Mobile Application Security: Our team provides comprehensive security assessments for web, desktop, and mobile applications, ensuring they are free from vulnerabilities and secure against potential attacks.
- API, Cloud, and WiFi Penetration Testing: We conduct specialized penetration testing for APIs, cloud environments, and WiFi networks, identifying vulnerabilities unique to these areas.
- VOIP Penetration Testing: Our red team tests Voice over IP (VOIP) systems, uncovering vulnerabilities that may expose an organization’s communication infrastructure.
- Phishing Awareness Testing: We simulate phishing attacks to gauge employee awareness and the effectiveness of existing security measures.
Red Team Tactics
The role of the red team is to accurately simulate the tactics that a real-world attacker would use to breach an organization’s systems. The details of these tactics can differ from one engagement to another, especially if the purpose of the engagement is to emulate a particular real-world cyber threat actor. Additionally, the rules of engagement for the assessment may preclude or forbid the use of certain tools and tactics.
However, some tactics are common across different engagements or different threat actors use variations on the same attacks. Some common tactics that a red team is likely to use during a security assessment include the following:
- Social Engineering: If allowed under the rules of engagement for the exercise, social engineering is a common tactic for cybercriminals and a good starting point for the red team. A red team may use phishing, vishing, and similar tactics to try to trick the target into handing over sensitive information or access to the organization’s systems.
- Network Scanning: Network and vulnerability scanning are common methods for collecting information about an organization’s systems and the software running on them. A red team is likely to perform scans to provide information about potential vulnerabilities to exploit.
- Vulnerability Exploitation: If vulnerabilities in an organization’s systems are revealed via network scanning or other means, the red team will exploit them. This is likely to be an iterative process, where the access gained by exploiting vulnerabilities is used to identify and exploit additional security holes.
- Physical Security Testing: In addition to testing an organization’s digital defenses, a red team may perform a physical security assessment as well. This could involve following employees into secure areas or using other means to circumvent physical security defenses.
Red Team vs. Blue Team
Red teams and blue teams represent the two major players in a cybersecurity testing exercise. The red team is responsible for assessing an organization’s systems and security for potential weaknesses, emulating a real-world attacker.
The blue team is likely the organization’s normal security team and may or may not be aware that an exercise is occurring. The blue team’s role is to accurately simulate how the organization would respond to the red team’s attacks, enabling the organization to identify any defects in its security processes and architectures.
How the Red Team Security Testing Process Works
- Rules of engagement: The red teaming process begins with defining the rules of engagement and goals for the exercise. All parties will sit down, determine the scope of the engagement, and define rules for managing certain incidents, such as terminating an attack.
- Assessment: After the rules of engagement have been defined, the assessment can begin. The red team will start with reconnaissance and then begin exploitation of any identified vulnerabilities. This will continue until the test is complete, which may be determined based on a time limit or whether the red team has achieved certain goals (such as accessing a particular file stored on a system).
- Retrospective: After the assessment, all parties involved will sit down for a retrospective. The red team will present what they did and their findings, and the defenders can ask questions and collect information that can be used for mitigating the identified vulnerabilities.
Red Team Security
Regular security testing is essential to ensure that an organization is protected against the latest cyber threats. Red team engagements are a great way to see how an organization’s security holds up against a realistic attack.
With a team of highly skilled experts and a comprehensive approach to red team services, Check Point is the ideal partner for organizations looking to test and improve their cybersecurity defenses. By working with us, you can be confident that your organization’s security will be thoroughly assessed and vulnerabilities will be identified and addressed
At CheckPoint, we offer a wide range of red team services, designed to help organizations accurately assess their security posture and uncover potential vulnerabilities.
Our red team expertise is backed by some of the hardest certifications to achieve in the industry, obtained from renowned organizations such as Offensive Security and eLearnSecurity.
We are dedicated to providing a comprehensive approach to security testing, ensuring our clients receive the best possible results.
To learn more or schedule an engagement, contact us.
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