Cybersecurity threats evolve every day, and organizations must adopt proactive strategies to stay ahead. While red and blue teaming have been staples in cybersecurity, purple teaming is emerging as a collaborative approach to bridge the gap between offensive and defensive security. But what exactly is purple teaming, and how can it enhance your organization’s security posture?
What is purple teaming?
Purple teaming is collaborative cybersecurity exercise that integrates the efforts of red and blue teams to improve an organization’s overall security. Unlike traditional red or blue team exercises, purple teaming emphasizes communication and coordination, ensuring both teams work together to identify and address vulnerabilities.
- Red Teams simulate attackers to identify weaknesses. They design and execute adversarial campaigns, like phishing or exploiting security gaps, to test both human and technical defenses. Red teaming is all about uncovering the human element—can they trick staff with phishing emails, and will their efforts go undetected?
- Blue Teams assess and strengthen defenses. Their focus is on monitoring systems, detecting threats, and responding to security incidents. Blue teams look closely at what activities can be detected and work to improve overall visibility and response.
- Purple Teams integrate the efforts of the Red and Blue teams to ensure a collaborative, holistic security approach. They work together and communicate openly, providing a comprehensive understanding of an organization’s strengths and weaknesses.
A Purple Team Exercise is a full-knowledge engagement — meaning attack activity is exposed and explained as it happens. Red and Blue teams work together with an open discussion about each attack technique and defense expectation to improve people, process, and technology in real-time.
When should you use purple teaming?
Purple teaming is particularly beneficial for organizations that:
- Want to enhance collaboration between offensive and defensive teams.
- Aim to improve detection and response capabilities in real-time.
- Seek a holistic approach to security that combines the strengths of red and blue teams.
- Operate in industries with high-security demands, such as finance, healthcare, or government.
What is the process of a Purple Team exercise?
A purple team exercise is a structured, iterative process designed to test and improve security controls. Here’s how it typically unfolds:
- Introduction of adversary and TTPs
An Exercise Coordinator introduces the adversary, outlining their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and provides technical details for the exercise. - Table-top discussion
Teams discuss security controls and expectations for the TTPs being tested. - Attack simulation
The red team emulates the TTPs, simulating real-world adversary behavior. - Detection & response
The blue team follows established processes to detect and respond to the simulated attacks, sharing screens to review alerts, logs, and forensic artifacts. - Documentation & tuning
Results are documented, highlighting what worked and what didn’t. Security controls are adjusted or tuned to increase visibility. - Iterate & improve
The process is repeated for the next TTP, incorporating lessons learned and additional action items.
What are the benefits of purple teaming?
Purple teaming offers several advantages for organizations looking to strengthen their cybersecurity:
- Enhanced collaboration
By fostering communication between red and blue teams, purple teaming breaks down silos and promotes a unified approach to security. - Improved detection & response
Real-time collaboration helps identify gaps in detection and response processes, enabling teams to address them more effectively. - Holistic security evaluation
Purple teaming evaluates people, processes, and technology, providing a comprehensive view of an organization’s security posture. - Actionable insights
The iterative nature of purple teaming ensures continuous improvement, with actionable recommendations to enhance security controls.
Bridging the gap for better security
As cyber threats become more sophisticated, organizations must adopt innovative approaches to stay secure. Purple teaming represents the next step in proactive cybersecurity, combining the strengths of red and blue teams to create a collaborative, holistic defense strategy. By integrating offensive and defensive efforts, purple teaming not only identifies vulnerabilities but also strengthens an organization’s ability to detect, respond to, and prevent attacks.
