Red Team vs Blue Team in Cybersecurity

Both red and blue teams work towards improving an organisation’s security, but they do so differently. A red team plays the role of the attacker by trying to find vulnerabilities and breakthrough cybersecurity defences. A blue team defends against attacks and responds to incidents when they occur.

Organisations in the United Kingdom reported more than 288,000 cybercrime complaints in 2022 [1]. By 2028, the global cost of cybercrime will likely exceed $13 trillion [2]. As companies attempt to protect their data and digital assets, the demand for cybersecurity professionals should also rise. 

Read on to discover what it’s like as a cybersecurity professional on a red or blue team so you can decide which might be a better fit and how these roles compare to emerging roles within the cybersecurity colour wheel.

Benefits of a red team vs blue team approach

One way organisations can assess their security capabilities is to stage a red team/blue team exercise. These two teams of professionals face off to put a security infrastructure to the test in a simulation meant to mimic a real attack. Taking a red team versus blue team approach to cybersecurity can have several benefits, allowing security teams to:

• Find vulnerabilities

• Strengthen network security

• Build experience in detecting and containing attacks

• Develop response plans and procedures

• Create healthy competition and cooperation

• Raise security awareness amongst other staff

If you're just starting in the world of cybersecurity, consider an entry-level credential:

What is a red team?

The EC-Council (creators of the Certified Ethical Hacker credential) defines a red team as “a group of cybersecurity professionals who simulate attacks against an organisation’s IT defences.” The red team plays the attacker or competitor's part to identify system vulnerabilities.

Red team activities

When you’re part of a red team, you’re tasked with thinking like a hacker to breach an organisation’s security (with their permission). Some common red team activities include:

• Social engineering

• Penetration testing

• Intercepting communication

• Card cloning

• Making recommendations to the blue team for security improvements

Red team skills

The offensive mindset of red team activities requires its own set of skills. If you’re interested in a red team role, building these skills could set you up for success:

• Software development: When you know how applications are built, you’re better able to identify their possible weaknesses (as well as write your own programs to automate the attack process).

• Penetration testing: Much of a red team’s job is to identify and exploit known network vulnerabilities. This includes familiarity with vulnerability scanners.

• Social engineering: An organisation’s biggest vulnerability is often its people rather than its computer network. Social engineering tactics like phishing, baiting, and tailgating can sometimes be the easiest way past security defences.

• Threat intelligence and reverse engineering: Knowing what threats are out there—and how to emulate them—can make you a more effective attacker.

• Creativity: Finding ways to beat a blue team’s defences often requires creating new and innovative forms of attack. 

Red team job titles

Even if a company doesn’t have defined red and blue teams, certain roles tend to have similar tasks and skill requirements as red teams. If you enjoy playing the part of the threat actor in cybersecurity, look for jobs like:

• Vulnerability assessor: £45,740 [3]

• Security auditor: £25,532 [4]

• Ethical hacker: £49,521 [5]

• Penetration tester: £48,847 [6]

Average annual salary data is sourced from Glassdoor as of July 2024.

Red team certifications

If you’re looking for a job as an offensive security specialist or red team member, having a credential to validate your penetration testing and offensive security skills could enhance your resume. Here are some popular cybersecurity certifications that target offensive skills:

• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

• Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT) Master

• CompTIA PenTest+

• GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN)

• GIAC Exploit Researcher and Advanced Penetration Tester (GXPN)

• Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)

• Certified Red Team Operations Professional (CRTOP)

Spend some time looking at job listings for roles you might be interested in to see what certifications are commonly requested or required.

What is a blue team?

A blue team is the security team that protects an organisation from a cyberattack and responds to incidents.  If the red team is playing offence, the blue team is playing defence to protect an organisation’s critical assets. 

Blue team activities

As a blue team member, it’s your job to analyse the current security posture of your organisation and take measures to address flaws and vulnerabilities. Playing for the Blue Team also means monitoring breaches and responding to them when they occur. Some of these tasks include:

• Digital footprint analysis 

• DNS audits 

• Installing and configuring firewalls and endpoint security software 

• Monitoring network activity 

• Using least-privilege access

Blue team skills

Defending a company against attack involves understanding what assets need to be protected and how to protect them best. Here are some skills that could serve you well in a blue team role:

• Risk assessment: Risk assessment helps you identify key assets that are most at risk for exploitation so you can prioritise your resources to protect them. 

• Threat intelligence: You’ll want to know what threats exist to plan appropriate defences. Blue teams have to stay a step ahead of attackers.

• Hardening techniques: Recognising weaknesses in your organisation's security is only helpful if you know the techniques for fixing them.

• Monitoring and detection systems: As a blue team professional, you’ll need to know how to use packet sniffers, security and information event management (SIEM) software, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and intrusion prevention systems (IPS).

Blue team job titles

The roles and responsibilities of a blue team more closely match those of traditional cybersecurity roles. If you’re interested in a career in defensive cybersecurity, look for jobs like:

• Cybersecurity analyst: £41,801 [7]

• Incident responder: £30,707 [8]

• Threat intelligence analyst: £38,283 [9]

• Information security specialist: £56,686 [10]

• Security engineer: £56,322 [11]

• Security architect: £79,247 [12]

Average salary data is sourced from Glassdoor as of July 2024.

Blue team certifications

Many of the most commonly requested cybersecurity certifications are also appropriate for defensive security professionals. Some popular options include:

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

• CompTIA Security+

• GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC)

• GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)

• Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP)

• CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+)

Choosing your team: Red vs blue

Offensive and defensive security professionals are in demand, and jobs on both teams tend to pay well. Choosing which side of the cybersecurity spectrum to work on depends on your interests and personality traits.

If you’re creative, outgoing, and prefer to try new things over keeping to a strict plan, red team-like roles could be a good fit for you. The blue team might be a better fit if you’re proactive, a natural planner, and confident in making decisions backed by data and industry standards.

Cybersecurity colour wheel: Yellow, green, orange, and purple team 

As cybersecurity becomes more specialised, new roles emerge beyond the red versus blue framework. You may see this referred to as the cybersecurity colour wheel. Let’s look at some of the other colours you might encounter.

• Purple team: A purple team integrates defensive and offensive tactics to promote collaboration and shared knowledge between red and blue teams. An effective red team/blue team interaction should naturally create a purple team.

• Yellow team: The yellow team is the builders—the security architects and coders who develop security systems. 

• Green team: The green team takes insights from the blue team to enhance the code written by the yellow team. They may also automate blue team tasks for a more efficient defence.

• Orange team: The orange team uses what it’s learned from attackers (red team) to encourage the yellow team to be more security conscious. It teaches developers to think like attackers to build better security into their code.

Get started in cybersecurity

Red teams simulate attacks to identify vulnerabilities, while blue teams defend against these attacks and respond to incidents. Cybersecurity professionals, including those on red and blue teams, are crucial for improving an organisation's security posture.

If you’re interested in starting a career in cybersecurity, consider the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate on Coursera. This programme is designed ​​to help individuals with no previous experience find their first job in the field of cybersecurity, all at their own pace. The courses cover topics such as security models, tools that are used to access and address threats, networks, and more.