Why We Red Team
May 2018
Security is hard. The world we operate in is unpredictable, messy, and rarely under our control. Attacks happen anywhere, at any time, often when it hurts the most. The adversary’s size, intent, and capability are usually unknown. They adapt, pivot, and persist. They do not wait for you to be ready.
Security is hard.
Some things are within reach. We can build teams, design monitoring systems, and prepare for incidents. But until you have faced a real breach, you do not know what will hold and what will collapse. The truth is simple: the adversary usually starts with the upper hand.
So how do you close that gap? You Red Team it. You introduce stress before the adversary does. You simulate the unexpected. You bring the threat to your doorstep on your terms.
Red Teaming is the deliberate emulation of your adversary, their tactics, and their mindset. It is a method to test systems, procedures, and people under pressure. A good Red Team exposes blind spots in policy, training, and execution. It builds resilience through controlled adversity.
Exercises alone are not enough. Red Teaming works best when it drives a deeper cultural shift. Security must move from compliance to curiosity, from checklist to challenge. The goal is to think like the adversary you are defending against. They do not follow your rules or respect your processes. You must learn to anticipate them.
When the adversarial mindset becomes part of how you plan, design, and respond, everything changes. Policies become sharper. Playbooks evolve. Teams adapt faster. You stop waiting to react and start shaping the fight on your own terms.
That is where we come in. We start with your leadership team, a focused two-hour session that reframes how you see and manage security. From there, we help build a stronger, more adaptive security program.
Let’s start the conversation. It is the first step toward making your organization stronger, smarter, and ready for what is coming.
Note: originally posted on ACG.