How Red Team Enhances Cybersecurity of Your Organization
- ESKA ITeam
- Apr 10
- 5 min read
Your company may have modern protection systems in place, but would they stand up to a real cyberattack? This is precisely what the Red Team helps verify — a team that simulates the actions of hackers to identify vulnerabilities in your infrastructure and assess the effectiveness of your defenses.
What Does the Red Team Do?
The Red Team is a cybersecurity approach where a group of specialists acts as an adversary to test an organization’s cyber resilience in conditions that closely resemble those in which real hackers operate. They do not just look for vulnerabilities — they attack systems, infrastructure, and even people, to evaluate the organization’s ability to detect, stop, and respond to a threat.
Methods Used by the Red Team:
Penetration Testing: Controlled attacks on networks, servers, APIs, and web applications to identify vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and gaps in the protection system.
Red Teaming: Cybersecurity specialists act as adversaries, using the same tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) as real cybercriminals. They model attacks at all levels, from network infiltration to taking over critical systems, to assess how well protected the company is from real threats.
Social Engineering: Phishing, phone calls, fake emails, and more, to test the employees’ awareness level.
Physical Security Testing: Attempts to gain access to offices, server rooms, or workstations.
More on phishing is discussed in our articles: Phishing and Enterprise: Effective Employee Training to Combat Advanced Attacks and Phishing and Enterprise: How to Choose Technological Solutions and a Reliable Vendor.
The difference between penetration testing and Red Team services is explained in the article: What Should Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Choose: Red Team or Penetration Testing?
How the Red Team Works
The Red Team’s work is always structured and logical. They do not just “hack,” but act within a carefully thought-out scenario that covers several key stages.
Reconnaissance. The first stage is a deep information gathering process. The team researches your organization from the outside, just as an attacker would. They study open sources: the company’s website, domain names, employee profiles on social networks, technical information in public registers. Reconnaissance helps build a picture of the infrastructure and identify potential entry points.
Exploitation of Vulnerabilities. Based on the gathered information, the Red Team identifies the weakest points and launches a series of controlled attacks. These could be technical vulnerabilities (e.g., misconfigured servers or outdated software), logical errors in security processes, or weak employee training. The team attempts to infiltrate the company’s network, bypass security measures, and reach predefined goals — such as access to critical data.
Identifying Weaknesses and Documentation. After completing the attacks, the team analyzes the results in detail. They document which vulnerabilities were exploited, which penetration paths were effective, and which systems were compromised. Special attention is given to whether the security systems or the security team detected the attack and how quickly the response occurred. All this information is compiled into a structured report, which serves as the basis for further actions.
Recommendations and Security Improvement. The Red Team doesn’t just identify problems — they provide clear, prioritized recommendations for addressing them. These could include changes in system configurations, software updates, improvements in access policies, or employee training. Moreover, the results of the test become the basis for Blue Team training — the internal defense team, which should hone its ability to respond to similar attacks in the future.
Why Businesses Need a Red Team: Real Benefits for the Company
In the context of the continuous rise in cyberattacks, the Red Team is not just a service to “check the box,” but an essential risk management tool.
Financial Security: Identifying and addressing critical vulnerabilities before hackers exploit them helps avoid losses, incident recovery costs, fines, and lawsuits.
Reputation Protection: Avoiding public incidents protects the brand and customer trust.
Compliance Requirements: Many standards (ISO 27001, PCI DSS, SOC 2) require penetration testing and assessments of the effectiveness of security measures.
Cyber Resilience Assessment: You’ll learn how your employees, processes, and technologies react under real pressure — and whether you can timely detect and stop an attack.
Optimization of Security Investments: The Red Team helps identify which solutions deliver results and which only create the illusion of protection.
Why Red Team is Important?
In the age of complex and targeted attacks, traditional security measures are no longer enough. The Red Team allows you to:
Test Real Readiness for Attacks: This is more than just an audit — it’s a stress test for the entire security system.
Identify “Blind Spots”: Some vulnerabilities can remain unnoticed for years. The Red Team will find them.
Reduce the Risk of Real Incidents: Testing helps uncover threats before a real hacker exploits them.
Increase Employee Awareness: Employees learn to recognize suspicious actions, be cautious with phishing attempts, and better understand their role in security.
Who is in the Red Team?
A successful Red Team is not a single person but a group with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Typically, it includes:
Red Team Leader / Offensive Security Manager: Responsible for strategy, coordination, defining attack scenarios, and liaising with the client.
Network Penetration Tester: Specialist in breaking network protocols, firewalls, VPNs, Wi-Fi, etc.
Application Security Expert: Focuses on attacks against web applications, APIs, mobile apps, and service architectures.
Social Engineering Expert: Creates phishing campaigns, physical access scenarios, simulates calls, fake requests, etc.
Malware Developer / Exploit Engineer: Develops custom malware, shellcode, payloads for system exploitation.
Red Team Analyst / Report Writer: Documents the entire process, prepares technical and managerial reports, and presents results to the business.
Some teams may also include:
OSINT Specialist for gathering public information.
Physical Penetration Expert — experts in breaking locks, bypassing security, etc.
Certifications and Qualifications of Red Team Specialists
Certification is not mandatory, but it confirms the team’s experience and professionalism. The most common and prestigious certifications for Red Team specialists include:
General Red Team / Offensive Security:
OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) — a basic but highly respected certification from Offensive Security.
OSEP (Offensive Security Experienced Penetration Tester) — advanced attack methods with EDR/XDR bypass.
CRTO (Certified Red Team Operator) — a practical course in Red Team operations in Windows environments (Cobalt Strike, AD, bypasses).
CRTP (Certified Red Team Professional) — focusing on Active Directory, privileges, lateral movement.
GXPN (GIAC Exploit Researcher and Advanced Penetration Tester) — deep exploitation skills and bypassing protections.
Social Engineering / Physical Security:
SEPP / SEPT (Social Engineering Pentest Professional/Team) — for social engineering specialists.
CPTC (Certified Physical Test Consultant) — for physical security testers.
Supporting / Infrastructure:
eCPPT / eCPTX (eLearnSecurity Penetration Testing) — technical certifications with practical labs.
OSWA / OSWE (Web Application Security) — for attacking applications.
CREST CRT / CCSAS / CCT INF — high-level certifications used in Europe and the UK.
After Completing the Red Team Cybersecurity Procedures (Penetration Test, Red Teaming), the Company Receives:
A detailed cybersecurity report: vulnerabilities identified, gaps, non-functioning security systems.
Specific recommendations for improving security.
Improved collaboration between Blue Team and IT teams.
Confidence in your ability to defend against real threats.
Ready to test your systems in a real attack scenario? Red Team services are not a trend — they are a strategy.
Contact our specialists — we’ll help strengthen your defenses to a level where attackers won’t stand a chance.
Comments