Red teaming that tests your detection and response.
We emulate a determined adversary over weeks, not days: multi-stage operations against people, processes and technology that show whether your organization detects, contains and responds to a real attack.
Beyond the vulnerability list
A red team engagement is driven by objectives. Instead of finding as many vulnerabilities as possible, the team pursues a realistic goal, such as reaching a payment system or exfiltrating sensitive data, with the tactics of the threat actors that target your sector.
It is the right test once vulnerability management and penetration testing are in place and you want to measure the security operations behind them. For financial entities, our Threat Led Penetration Testing follows the TIBER-EU framework.
Red Teaming Adversary simulation & validation
- Multi-stage attack simulations
- Adversary emulation
- Social engineering campaigns
- Detection & response validation
- Lateral movement testing
- Persistence & exfiltration scenarios
Outcomes
- Security control validation
- Blue team effectiveness analysis
- Detection gap identification
- Improved cyber resilience
An intelligence-led operation, five phases.
The phases follow the TIBER-EU logic: threat intelligence first, then a controlled operation, then a joint review with your defenders.
Objectives and threat intelligence
We agree goals, rules of engagement and a control team, and build threat scenarios from intelligence on the actors relevant to your sector.
Reconnaissance and initial access
OSINT, attack surface discovery and social engineering find the way in, from exposed services to phishing.
Lateral movement and persistence
Once inside, the team escalates privileges, moves laterally and establishes persistence while trying to stay undetected.
Objectives and detection
We pursue the agreed objectives and record which actions were detected, when, and how the response unfolded.
Report and replay
A detailed report and a joint replay session with your blue team turn the operation into concrete detection and response improvements.
Frameworks behind every operation.
Scenarios and findings are mapped to MITRE ATT&CK. Threat Led Penetration Testing follows TIBER-EU and supports the TLPT requirements that DORA sets for financial entities. Engagements also feed the testing and incident response expectations of NIS2 and ISO/IEC 27001.
BackBox AI supports the operators in reconnaissance, attack path analysis and documentation, so the human team spends more time on the creative work a real adversary would do.
Frameworks and references
Red teaming, common questions.
What is the difference between red teaming and penetration testing?
A penetration test covers a defined scope and aims to find as many exploitable weaknesses in it as possible. A red team engagement pursues specific objectives across the whole organization, stays covert, and measures how well your people and tools detect and respond.
How long does a red team engagement take?
Usually several weeks, depending on objectives and scope. A TLPT under DORA takes longer: the delegated regulation on TLPT sets an active red team phase of at least twelve weeks, preceded by a threat intelligence phase.
Who in our organization should know about the test?
Only a small control team: typically a sponsor and a few people who can authorize actions and stop the test if needed. Keeping the blue team unaware is what makes the detection results meaningful.
What is TLPT and who needs it?
Threat Led Penetration Testing is an intelligence-driven red team test on live production systems. Under DORA, financial entities identified by their competent authority must carry it out at least every three years, with a methodology based on TIBER-EU; in Italy, the TIBER-IT framework was updated in 2025 to align with DORA.
What is the difference between red, blue and purple teams?
The red team plays the attacker; the blue team defends and detects. Purple teaming is a collaborative format in which the two work side by side, technique by technique, to improve detection quickly: it complements a covert red team test rather than replacing it.