Why choose Bulletproof red teaming
Bespoke Scenarios
Meet your organisation’s unique risk profile & engagement objectives with tailored, optimised scenarios
Expert Red Teams
Seasoned red team personnel bring years of adversarial expertise and insight to every engagement
Unique Insights
Expert red team testing gives you unparalleled security insights to power prioritised improvements
Regulated Experience
Our red team and threat intelligence specialists bring deep expertise in supporting security programs across regulated sectors.
What is red teaming?
Red teaming is an adversarial, threat-led method of security testing. A red team test aims to breach your defences by employing genuine tactics, techniques and procedures that a real-world cyber criminal would use. This goal-oriented-driven approach more accurately simulates an attack by a persistent threat actor on your cyber defences and security team. Bulletproof red team pen testers use social engineering, penetration testing tools and creative thinking to identify vulnerabilities in networks, systems, buildings, people and processes. This makes red team assessments comprehensive in nature, providing an extensive insight into your business's security. Bulletproof divides red team testing into the following distinct attack scenarios, each with its own aims and security outcomes:
Red Team
Black Team
Purple Team
Assumed Breach
EDR/XDR Evaluation
Benefits of red team testing
A real-world security test
Simulate a sophisticated real-world threat attempt from a determined adversary
Discover & categorise risks
Identify which assets are at risk, including how & why they can be targeted
Assess detection & response
Evaluate your capability to detect & respond to advanced security threats
Eliminate bias & assumptions
External security tests challenge your security assumptions & uncover bias
Find unknown vulnerabilities
Uncover hidden security weaknesses in your people, processes & technology
Prioritise security investment
Implement better defences with a holistic, intel-based view of your security ops
Get the right red teaming service
Bulletproof offers a wide range of red teaming services to help your organisation simulate targeted attacks against your security controls. Explore our variety of red team services below.
Threat-led Testing
Threat led red team engagements follow a structured approach to threat simulation. The engagement is tailored to the specific threat group based on provided threat intelligence, and adjusted based on the organisations security posture.
The aim is to simulate a real-world breach scenario and evaluate the effectiveness of your security measures against a clear set of goals with defined success and failure conditions. The engagement heavily uses threat intelligence information to build a number of different scenarios and then simulates these attacks against the organisation. The approach and methodology for these is aligned with industry best practices such as TIBER-EU, DORA and STAR.
Red Team
Put your defences to the test against a real, persistent adversary.
Red team penetration testing is the only way to truly gauge how your business’ security defences react to a real-world threat. By simulating the resources and tools available to a determined adversary, red teaming reveals security flaws that you didn’t know you had. Red teaming is the most comprehensive security test available and demonstrates your commitment to business security.
All Bulletproof red team engagements are tailored to your specific business and objectives, providing an unrivalled training opportunity for your defensive teams and systems. Our approach, based on real world threats, is designed to evaluate the people, processes and technology within your organisation.
Black Team
Put your physical security defences to the ultimate test.
The aim of black teaming is to gain access to a restricted physical space, such as a particular office or data centre. Bulletproof’s skilled back team pen testers will use all tools at their disposal to model a determined, persistent adversary aiming to breach your physical defences. Find out how resistant your people, processes and technology are to social engineering, attack simulation, tailgating, pretexting and much more.
Purple Team
Take a collaborative approach to improve the detection & prevention capabilities of your organisation.
Purple teaming simulates a wide range of techniques, tactics and procedures in a safe and collaborative way. Both red and blue teams work together to evaluate individual offensive actions commonly taken during a real-world attack, with the goal of remedying any issues. Purple team testing gives you a comprehensive overview of detection and response gaps mapped to industry-standard frameworks, such as MITRE ATT&CK.
Assumed Breach
Move beyond classic authenticated penetration testing by using an objective & impact driven approach.
Assumed breach testing operates under the simple principle that a breach can and will happen. It is designed to identify how well your defence in depth would limit a real-world attacker and the effectiveness of protecting your critical business functions. Testing is objective driven and uncovers what an attacker can achieve via device compromise or other attack vector.
EDR/XDR Evaluation
Maximise the effectiveness of EDR/XDR systems with an in-depth test of its ability to detect & remove threats.
Put your EDR/XDR to the test and determine its efficacy with an expert evaluation from Bulletproof. In-depth configuration and effectiveness reviews of your chosen platforms and technology uncovers weaknesses and help you maximise the effectiveness of EDR/XDR systems. Bulletproof use a test, evaluate & improve approach to put your chosen provider to the test against commodity and bespoke threats.
Get the right red teaming service
Bulletproof offers a wide range of red teaming services to help your organisation simulate targeted attacks against your security controls. Explore our variety of red team services below.
Red Team
Put your defences to the test against a real, persistent adversary.
Red team penetration testing is the only way to truly gauge how your business’ security defences react to a real-world threat. By simulating the resources and tools available to a determined adversary, red teaming reveals security flaws that you didn’t know you had. Red teaming is the most comprehensive security test available and demonstrates your commitment to business security.
All Bulletproof red team engagements are tailored to your specific business and objectives, providing an unrivalled training opportunity for your defensive teams and systems. Our approach, based on real world threats, is designed to evaluate the people, processes and technology within your organisation.
Black Team
Put your physical security defences to the ultimate test.
The aim of black teaming is to gain access to a restricted physical space, such as a particular office or data centre. Bulletproof’s skilled back team pen testers will use all tools at their disposal to model a determined, persistent adversary aiming to breach your physical defences. Find out how resistant your people, processes and technology are to social engineering, ethical hacking, tailgating, pretexting and much more.
Purple Team
Take a collaborative approach to improve the detection & prevention capabilities of your organisation.
Purple teaming simulates a wide range of techniques, tactics and procedures in a safe and collaborative way. Both red and blue teams work together to evaluate individual offensive actions commonly taken during a real-world attack, with the goal of remedying any issues. Purple team testing gives you a comprehensive overview of detection and response gaps mapped to industry-standard frameworks, such as MITRE ATT&CK.
Assumed Breach
Move beyond classic authenticated penetration testing by using an objective & impact driven approach.
Assumed breach testing operates under the simple principle that a breach can and will happen. It is designed to identify how well your defence in depth would limit a real-world attacker and the effectiveness of protecting your critical business functions. Testing is objective driven and uncovers what an attacker can achieve via device compromise or other attack vector.
EDR/XDR Evaluation
Maximise the effectiveness of EDR/XDR systems with an in-depth test of its ability to detect & remove threats.
Put your EDR/XDR to the test and determine its efficacy with an expert evaluation from Bulletproof. In-depth configuration and effectiveness reviews of your chosen platforms and technology uncovers weaknesses and help you maximise the effectiveness of EDR/XDR systems. Bulletproof use a test, evaluate & improve approach to put your chosen provider to the test against commodity and bespoke threats.
Why your organisation needs red teaming
Red teaming is a powerful way to expose hidden threats and strengthen your security from the inside out. It gives your security team the insight to help you protect your valuable data and assets from targeted attacks.
Organisations of all sizes can use red teaming attack scenarios to better understand your security posture and assess how your organisation would defend against a determined and resourceful adversary. A key benefit is the ability to uncover blind spots caused by bias and assumptions, which can go unnoticed by other types of security testing. This makes a red team assessment a great way to test and improve your incident response capability.
What’s the difference between red teaming and a penetration test?
A Penetration tests attempt to find security vulnerabilities in a specific set of IT systems, whereas the goal of a red team assessment is to compromise your security defences using real techniques and tooling used by determined adversaries. The objective-based nature better simulates an attack from a determined cyber criminal against your networks and security controls. Red teaming can be combined with black teaming to provide a complete assessment of your organisation’s security posture.
Bulletproof’s experienced, adversarial tradecraft tests every layer of your organisation’s defences to provide a complete overview of your security risks. Red teaming is the most in-depth security assessment available, and an ideal way to strengthen systems across your business while showing your clients and stakeholders that you take security seriously.
Learn more about red teaming (FAQs)
A typical Red Team engagement involves three core groups:
Control Group – Trusted representatives from the client who oversee and coordinate the engagement.
Red Team – The offensive team responsible for planning and executing realistic, threat-led attack simulations.
Blue Team – The client’s internal security team or third-party defenders tasked with detecting, responding to, and mitigating threats (often unaware of the exercise in advance).
In regulated frameworks like DORA, TIBER-EU, or STAR, additional participants may include regulatory bodies, Threat Intelligence providers, and independent regulating bodies to ensure compliance and realism.
Absolutely. We actively encourage collaboration with in-house Blue Teams. Coordinated Red Team exercises are an excellent way to validate existing security controls and identify real-world attack paths that could lead to compromise.
Enhancing your defensive capabilities is central to our Red Team philosophy. For organisations focused on improving detection and response, we also offer fully collaborative Purple Team engagements.
Red Teaming is ideal for organisations with mature security controls and regular penetration testing in place. However, businesses at any stage can benefit from a tailored engagement.
Our consultants will assess your current security posture and recommend the most effective approach based on your goals and requirements — ensuring you get maximum value from the exercise.
The duration depends on the scope, objectives, and organisational maturity. A typical non-regulated Red Team engagement lasts 4 to 12 weeks, with flexibility to use streamlined approaches such as Assumed Breach to reduce complexity and shorten timelines.
For regulated frameworks like TIBER, DORA, or STAR, we strictly follow defined timelines and phases. These engagements usually span multiple months, with active testing windows often lasting around 12 weeks, though this can vary by framework and scope.
Effective preparation starts with clear planning. Defining your learning objectives, desired outcomes, and identifying critical systems or functions you want tested will help us tailor realistic and relevant attack scenarios to your organisation.
The more clarity you provide upfront, the more value and insight the engagement will deliver. If you're ever in doubt feel free to reach out to us for a no obligation chat to discuss approaches and options best suited for your organisation.
Bulletproof is a CREST STAR-accredited organisation, with certified CCRTS team members and a structured team of Leads and Operators. We actively deliver engagements under the TIBER-EU, DORA, and STAR frameworks, ensuring compliance with industry and regulatory standards.
No. While both assess security, penetration testing focuses on finding technical vulnerabilities in specific systems. Red Teaming or Threat Led Testing simulates real-world attack scenarios across multiple vectors to test detection, response, and resilience of your entire organisation including people, processes, and technology.
We emulate realistic threats such as phishing, social engineering, initial access via exposed systems or services, lateral movement, privilege escalation, data exfiltration and ransomware scenarios, all based on threat intelligence and your sector's risk profile.
You’ll receive a detailed report within our interactive reporting portal and a PDF copy covering attack paths, vulnerabilities exploited, engagement timelines, and actionable recommendations. We also conduct a full debrief with stakeholders and run workshops with your Blue Team to improve defences, foster collaboration and deliver on key learning objectives.
Yes. We align engagements with your risk profile, industry-specific threats, and compliance requirements. Whether you need to simulate a nation-state threat, meet DORA regulations, or focus on insider risks we’ll build a scenario that fits.
Typically not. To accurately simulate a real-world threat, Red Team engagements are conducted covertly, with only a small control group aware. This helps assess your organisation’s true detection and response capabilities.
Get in touch to discuss red teaming
Full suite of red teaming services available: red team, black team, purple team, assumed breach & EDR/XDR assessment
What our customers say
Bulletproof took the time to understand our penetration testing objectives, which showed in the results. The pen test was delivered on our tight timeframe and the threat management platform made it easy for us to remediate the penetration test results quickly and effectively.
Bulletproof's security qualifications
With OSCP & CREST certified expert pen testers and 7+ years in the industry, Bulletproof penetration testing services have a proven track record of finding flaws and helping businesses stay ahead of the hackers.
Red Team Techniques
Bulletproof red teaming follows a meticulous methodology, designed to provide flexibility and efficiency to power the best outcomes from your red team engagement.
Recon & Attack Planning
Attack Development
Initial Compromise & Foothold
Network Propagation
Complete Objectives
Additional Value & Reporting
Debrief & Remediation Guidance
More red teaming learning resources
Meet our red team
The breadth of skills we have in the red team allows us to be ultra-flexible and find innovative ways to circumvent the most mature cyber defences. We’re always pushing our capabilities and I’m proud of my team’s collective skills and expertise, not to mention the security outcomes we generate for our customers.DominicBulletproof Red Team SpecialistSee blogs by DominicFollow Dominic on LinkedIn
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Rated 5 stars on Google
We’ve always been very impressed with the cyber security services Bulletproof provide us. Their professional approach, knowledge and flexibility have ensured they have become a key trusted partner in our supply chain.
Get a red team quote
Full suite of red teaming services available: red team, black team, purple team, assumed breach & EDR/XDR assessment
Advanced security testing from UK experts
Model a determined real-world attacker
Find hidden security weaknesses
Uncover assumptions & bias in your security
One of the leading security testing providers in the UK
Test defence in depth & incident response
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