Services Red Team Assessment Services
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Red Team Assessment Services

Red team assessments simulate the tradecraft of real-world adversaries against your full organisation, not just narrow technical penetration tests of pre-agreed targets. Where penetration testing asks "is this system secure?", red teaming asks "if a determined attacker targeted us, what would happen?"

RedSecLabs delivers full-spectrum red team engagements modelled on real threat actor TTPs from MITRE ATT&CK, validated against your detection and response capability. We test the whole kill chain, initial access, persistence, lateral movement, privilege escalation, data exfiltration, under realistic conditions that pressure-test your defensive operation in ways scoped penetration tests cannot.

Our red teams operate to CREST standards for the financial sector, with experience supporting CREST-accredited, and equivalent threat-led testing programmes.

CREST Certified Pen Test Provider ISO Certified OSCP Certified Industry Certification

Free Security Quote

Just a few questions to scope your project. We respond the same business day.

✓ UK-based CREST member · ✓ QSA-aligned methodology · ✓ Same-day scoping response · ✓ Executive + technical reports · ✓ Retest included
Who this is for

This service is a fit if you’re..

1
Mature security functions
Organisations with established SOC and pentest programmes wanting to test detection and response, not just vulnerabilities.
2
DORA TLPT requirement
Financial entities in scope for DORA Article 26 threat-led penetration testing.
3
Board-level assurance
Executive teams wanting evidence of how the organisation actually performs under adversary pressure.

Red Team Assessment, Quick Facts

Last reviewed: 2026-05-21
Methodology
TIBER-EU-aligned threat intelligence-led testing
vs Penetration Testing
Red team is goal-based, scenario-driven, and tests detection/response, pentest is scope-based and tests vulnerabilities
Typical duration
4-12 weeks depending on scope and threat intelligence depth
Includes
Threat intelligence phase, red team execution, blue team observation, purple team replay
When required
DORA Article 26 (TLPT)-style supervisory programmes, mature security functions
Output
Executive summary, technical findings, defender upskill notes, regulator-ready evidence pack
CREST
Threat-led methodology
MITRE ATT&CK
TTPs aligned to real adversaries
4-12 weeks
Engagement duration
CREST
Member company

What is a red team assessment?

A red team assessment is an objective-led engagement that simulates the activity of a determined adversary against your organisation. Unlike penetration testing, which scopes specific systems and assesses them for vulnerabilities, red teaming sets goals (e.g. compromise the payment system, exfiltrate customer database, achieve domain admin) and uses any technique a real attacker would: phishing, OSINT-driven reconnaissance, lateral movement, persistence, defensive evasion.

The point is not to find every vulnerability, it is to demonstrate whether your detection, response, and resilience capabilities work under realistic adversary pressure. Findings cover not just exploitable weaknesses but gaps in monitoring, alerting, incident response, and recovery.

What our red team assessments deliver:

Realistic test of detection and response capability

Validation of SOC, EDR, and SIEM effectiveness in adversarial conditions

Identification of attack paths penetration tests cannot find

Evidence supporting CREST-accredited, regulatory threat-led testing

MITRE ATT&CK-mapped findings and detection coverage analysis

Purple team exercises to uplift defensive capability

Red teaming is most valuable for organisations with mature defensive operations, without a SOC or EDR to detect activity, you cannot meaningfully measure detection capability.

Why red team assessments matter

Penetration tests measure whether vulnerabilities exist. Red team engagements measure whether your defensive operation works. Most breached organisations had penetration tests on record, what they lacked was the ability to detect and respond to live adversarial activity. Red teaming is the only way to test that capability before a real attacker does.

For regulated financial institutions, threat-led testing is increasingly mandated: CREST-accredited in the UK, across Europe, equivalent regimes in Hong Kong, Singapore, and elsewhere. RedSecLabs delivers under all these frameworks with the formality, threat intelligence integration, and reporting depth that regulators expect.

Without red team validation, organisations risk:

Detection and response capabilities that look good on paper but fail in practice

False confidence in tooling that hasn't been adversarially tested

Unvalidated incident response playbooks

Gaps in MITRE ATT&CK coverage that real attackers will exploit

Inability to meet regulatory threat-led testing obligations

Costly real incidents that adversary simulation would have prevented

Red teaming closes the gap between theoretical defensive capability and real-world adversary resilience.

Who needs red team assessment?

Red teaming is most valuable for organisations with mature defensive operations and meaningful adversary exposure. RedSecLabs delivers across:

Financial services (CREST)

Critical national infrastructure

High-value technology and IP holders

Multinational enterprises

Healthcare and pharmaceutical organisations

Government and defence agencies

Major cloud and SaaS providers

Payment and fintech infrastructure

Organisations without mature SOCs typically get more value from penetration testing first, then move to red teaming once detection capability is in place.

Our Red Team Methodology

A CREST aligned methodology combining threat intelligence, MITRE ATT&CK-mapped TTPs, and rigorous purple team integration.

01

Threat Intelligence & Scenario Design

We profile relevant adversary groups for your sector and design scenarios reflecting their typical TTPs, not generic Hollywood hacking.

02

Rules of Engagement & Approvals

Detailed RoE document with named approvers, escalation procedures, deconfliction protocols, and clear in-scope/out-of-scope definitions.

03

Reconnaissance & Initial Access

OSINT, phishing, social engineering, and external vulnerability targeting to gain initial foothold, modelled on the adversary scenarios.

04

Persistence & Privilege Escalation

Establishing reliable callback, evading EDR, escalating to higher-privilege accounts using techniques drawn from real intrusion campaigns.

05

Lateral Movement & Reconnaissance

Network discovery, credential harvesting, lateral movement toward objective systems, testing your network segmentation and east-west monitoring.

06

Objective Execution

Demonstration of objective achievement, typically data access, transaction manipulation, or critical system control, without actually causing harm.

07

Purple Team Walk-Through

Detailed walk-through with your blue team showing exactly what we did, what they detected, what they missed, and how to close detection gaps.

08

Reporting & Detection Engineering

Comprehensive report with MITRE ATT&CK mapping, detection gap analysis, and specific recommendations for SIEM rules and EDR policies.

Engagements typically run 4-12 weeks depending on scope, objectives, and threat scenario complexity. Purple team integration is included as standard.

What you receive

Every red team engagement with RedSecLabs includes:

  • Threat intelligence brief and scenario design document
  • Detailed rules of engagement and approval framework
  • Full engagement narrative with timestamped activity log
  • MITRE ATT&CK mapping of executed TTPs
  • Detection gap analysis against your blue team telemetry
  • Purple team walk-through and detection engineering session
  • Specific SIEM rule and EDR policy recommendations
  • Executive briefing suitable for board and regulator reporting

Industries We Serve

We deliver this service across these industries:

Financial Services
Healthcare
SaaS & Technology
E-commerce & Retail
Defence & Government
Cloud & Managed Services
Education
Professional Services

Why RedSecLabs for red teaming

Red teaming done badly is just expensive penetration testing. Our engagements are threat-intelligence-led, MITRE ATT&CK-aligned, and purple team-integrated, focused on uplifting your defensive capability, not just demonstrating you can be breached. Clients come back year after year because the detection engineering output materially improves their SOC capability.

CREST qualified red team operators
CREST-accredited engagement experience
MITRE ATT&CK-mapped TTPs and findings
Purple team integration as standard
Detection engineering output drives SOC uplift
Regulator-ready reporting depth

Validate Your Defensive Operation

Book a free 30-minute scoping call. Threat scenario brief and fixed-fee proposal within two weeks.

Book a Scoping Call Contact Us

Where to next

Related services and industry packages worth exploring.

Penetration Testing UK

CREST Penetration Testing

Financial Services package
Related reading

From the RedSecLabs research blog

From the blog

Penetration Testing vs Red Teaming

When to use each, and what red team engagements actually look like.

Read on the RedSecLabs blog

Frequently Asked Questions

Penetration testing is scoped (specific systems), structured (defined methodology), and short (days to weeks). Red teaming is objective-led (e.g. compromise the payment system), realistic (any tradecraft a real attacker would use), and longer (weeks to months). Red teaming tests your whole defensive operation, detection, response, recovery, not just a list of vulnerabilities.

4-12 weeks elapsed. The classic engagement is 8 weeks: 1 week threat intelligence and scenario design, 1 week reconnaissance, 4 weeks active engagement, 2 weeks reporting and purple team. Larger or more constrained scenarios can run longer.

Purple teaming is the collaborative session at the end of (or during) a red team engagement where the red team walks through everything they did with the blue team. The blue team sees exactly what was detected and what was missed; the red team learns where the blue team's real strengths lie. It is the highest-value learning output of any red team engagement.

Yes, most engagements are scoped to TTPs of specific threat actors relevant to your sector (e.g. FIN7 for retail, Lazarus for financial services, APT28 for government). We use the latest threat intelligence on group TTPs and tooling to make scenarios realistic.

Engagements typically £45,000-£150,000+ depending on scope, scenario complexity, and engagement duration. CREST-accredited engagements run higher reflecting threat intelligence integration and reporting depth. We provide a fixed-fee quote after detailed scoping.
What you receive

Every engagement includes

  • ✓ Scoping call. A 30-minute call to define scope, timeline, and authorisation boundaries.
  • ✓ Test plan. Written test plan covering targets, methodology, and rules of engagement.
  • ✓ Technical report. Detailed findings with reproduction steps, evidence, and remediation guidance.
  • ✓ Executive summary. Board-ready 1-2 page summary with risk ratings and business impact.
  • ✓ Audit-ready evidence. Findings letter formatted for auditors, customers, and supervisory authorities.
  • ✓ Retest letter. Free retest of remediated findings within an agreed window. Confirmation letter included.
  • ✓ Remediation call. A call with our lead tester to walk through findings and remediation strategy.
How we deliver

Our process, end to end

  1. 1
    Scoping call & fixed-scope quote
    A 30-minute call. We define scope, targets, timeline. You get a fixed-scope quote within one working day. No surprise invoices.
  2. 2
    Test plan & authorisation
    Written test plan covering methodology, targets, and rules of engagement. Authorisation letter signed before any testing begins.
  3. 3
    CREST-aligned execution
    Senior tester runs the engagement. Critical findings flagged immediately during testing. Daily updates if you want them.
  4. 4
    Technical + executive report
    Detailed technical findings with reproduction steps. Board-ready executive summary. Delivered within agreed working days.
  5. 5
    Remediation call & retest
    Walkthrough with our lead tester. Retest of remediated findings within the agreed window. Confirmation letter for your auditors.
Engagement scope

What shapes the quote

Small scope
Single app, focused scope, smaller surface. 5-7 working days.
Medium scope
Multi-role platform, several user types, integrations. 8-12 working days.
Enterprise scope
Complex environment, multiple targets, compliance evidence. 12-25 working days.
Fixed-scope quote within 1 working day
No surprise invoices, no scope-creep. We commit to a number before you commit to us.
Sample report
See exactly what we deliver
Download a redacted RedSecLabs penetration test report. Same format, same depth, same clarity as the report your team will receive.
Download sample report
Why RedSecLabs

Grounded reasons clients choose us

⚑
UK-based team
Testers based in the UK. Data stays within UK/EU jurisdiction for sensitive engagements.
❄
CREST member company
CREST-aligned methodology. Senior testers hold CREST CRT or CCT certifications.
⚙
Manual testing, not scanner-only
Automated scanners catch the obvious. Our human testers find the issues that matter.
✎
Clear executive reporting
Reports your board can read and your developers can act on. No jargon padding.
♚
Compliance-aware delivery
PCI, SOC 2, ISO 27001, DORA, GDPR. We map findings to your compliance framework.
↺
Retest support included
Free retest of remediated findings within agreed window. Confirmation letter for auditors.
Related services

Often paired with this engagement

DORA TLPT →
For DORA-regulated financial entities.
CREST Penetration Testing →
For CREST-aligned testing.
Spear Phishing Simulation →
Social engineering component.
Ransomware Preparedness →
Scenario-specific resilience.
Incident Response Retainer →
Post-engagement IR readiness.
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