What is a purple team in Cyber Security?

Read our blog to find out what a purple team is, the difference between them and red & blue teams, and why your organization needs one.

A purple team in cyber security is a collaborative group that combines the offensive expertise of a red team with the defensive expertise of a blue team. Instead of each of these working separately from each other, a purple team makes sure that both groups share their insights in real time. 

The purpose of a purple team is to:

• Simulate cyberattacks
• Assess security measures
• Enhance an organization’s ability to detect and respond to cyber security threats.

Overall, a purple team is an essential cybersecurity service that promotes constructive collaboration between offensive and defensive components. But there is much more to it.

This blog will cover: 

• What’s the difference between a red team vs blue team vs purple team?
• How does purple teaming work?
• Purple team exercises and activities
• Benefits of purple teaming
• Purple teaming best practices
• How to measure a purple team’s success
• Example of a purple team
• Challenges of purple teaming and how to mitigate them

What’s the difference between red team vs blue team vs purple team?

Understanding the difference between red teams vs. blue teams vs. purple teams helps to clarify what purple teaming is and why it’s so valuable. Each of these different in several ways:

What is a red team?

The red team, made up of offensive security experts, specialises in using simulated cyberattacks using hacking techniques. Their goal is to find weaknesses in an organisation’s systems and networks.

What is a blue team?

The blue team is made up of defensive security specialists that protect and organization’s digital assets. Their expertise lies in threat detection, incident response, and risk mitigation.

A blue team’s main goal is to continuously monitor network activity, analyze logs, and use security tools to detect and counter suspicious activity. 

What is a purple team? 

The purple team is the mediation between red and blue teams. Their main purpose is to improve an organisation’s security by facilitating collaboration between both teams. 

They create a controlled environment where simulated cyberattacks conducted by the red team are monitored by the blue team to reflect on existing security strategies and improve their responses.

The difference between a red team vs blue team vs purple team can be summarized with this table:

Team	Expertise	Goal	Purpose
Red Team	Offensive Security	Attack Simulation	Identify vulnerabilities and test defenses
Blue Team	Defensive Security	Defend Networks	Protect against real and simulated cyberattacks
Purple Team	Both Red and Blue	Security Improvement	Collaboratively assess and enhance security

 

How does purple teaming work?

Purple teaming is not just a one-time assessment, it follows a structured process that is repeated over time. Purple teaming is not just a one-time assessment; it’s a structured, iterative process.

Here’s a step-by-step of how purple teaming typically works:

1. Engagement planning: An engagement plan outlines the scope, objectives, and specific areas of focus for the purple team exercise. These are defined by the red and blue teams.
2. Simulated attacks: The red team carries out simulated cyberattacks using various techniques and tools that mimic real-world threat actors, such as pen testing, vulnerability scanning, social engineering, and other offensive tactics.
3. Defensive measures: The blue team will then monitor and defend the organization’s systems and networks during the simulated attacks using  security tools, threat detection mechanisms, and incident response procedures.
4. Collaboration: The purple team will make sure that the red and blue teams have effective communication and cooperation during the exercise. They will also monitor the red team’s actions and provide feedback to the blue team on the effectiveness of their defenses.
5. Debrief and analysis: At the end of the purple team exercise, there is a thorough debriefing session, where outcomes, vulnerabilities, and defensive actions are analyzed.
6. Recommendations: The purple team will work with leadership and IT teams to make recommendations for security measures, such as patching vulnerabilities, updating security policies, or enhancing staff training.
7. Repetition: The purple team exercise is repeated regularly for the purpose of continuous security testing.

Purple teaming exercises and activities

Some common purple team exercises include: 

• Cross-training sessions: Purple teams organize cross-training sessions where red and blue teams actively participate. They each share their knowledge and skills so that each team gets a better understanding of the other.
• Mitigation validation: Purple teams create an exercise where red teams simulate attacks and blue teams defend against them.
• Root cause analysis: After mitigation validation, purple teams will help red and blue teams work together to find the root causes of simulated attacks.
• Attack scenario workshops: Purple teams will create attack scenarios with the help of red and blue teams.
• Shadowing exercises: Purple teams organize shadowing exercises where blue team members actively observe red team activities and ask questions to get better insights into attacker techniques.
• Adversary profiling: Purple teams work together to research and profile potential attackers.
• Risk assessments: Purple teams will guide red and blue teams to assess vulnerabilities in the security system and prioritize which ones to address first.
• Policy alignment: Purple teams will lead reviews of security policies and procedures and identify any gaps.
• Feedback: Purple teams will organize regular meetings where the red and blue teams can share their insights, talk about ongoing threats, and plan future exercises.

Benefits of purple teaming

The use of purple teaming in cyber security has many benefits, including: 

• • Faster identification of vulnerabilities in a security system. 
  • Improved incident response capabilities. 
  • Better collaboration between red and blue teams. 
  • Better alignment between security and business goals which inform security investments.
  • Continuous improvement thanks to constant simulated cyber attacks. 
  • A better understanding of cyber security risks which helps the business meet compliance and regulatory requirements. 
  • A reduction in the organisation’s attack surface. 
  • Measurable results that can demonstrate ROI (return-on-investment). 
  • An increase in the leadership team’s confidence that the cyber security team can defend the organisation against cyber threats.

Purple teaming best practices

For purple teaming to be effective, it must: 

• • Encourage open communication between red and blue teams. 
  • Clearly define goals and expectations for each purple team exercise.
  • Rotate between red and blue team roles to gain better insights. 
  • Continuously provide an act on feedback from both red and blue teams. 
  • Make sure that security efforts are aligned with the organisation’s objectives. 
  • Collaboratively collect and analyse threat intelligence. 
  • Keep detailed records of any vulnerabilities, actions, and solutions found during purple team exercises. 
  • Invest in ongoing training and upskilling for red and blue teams. 

How to measure a purple team’s success

Measuring the success of a purple team is essential to demonstrate ROI and satisfy leadership teams. Some of the key metrics to measure the success of purple teaming include:

• A reduction in the time teams need to detect and respond to simulated cyber attacks. 
• The number of vulnerabilities that the purple team is able to identify and defend against. 
• The amount of the organisation’s budget saved by avoiding security breaches. 
• An improvement in how prepared employees feel to respond to a cyber threat. 
• An increase in employees’ awareness of current cyber threats.

Example of a purple team exercise

Lets imagine that an organization is running a purple team during a spear-phishing assessment. Here is how a purple team would approach this situation:

1. 1. Planning: The purple team will study real-world spear-phishing campaigns to plan the simulated attack scenario and define its objectives.
      
   2. Simulation design: The purple team will design a realistic spear-phishing email, using the techniques used by actual attackers. 
   3. Execution: The red team will take on the role of the attacker, sending simulated phishing emails to a select group of employees in the organization.
   4. Response: The blue team will monitor incoming emails, network traffic, and user responses. When employees report the suspicious emails or click on phishing links, they will investigate and take action to respond to the threat.  
   5. Debrief and recommendation: The purple team will organize a joint briefing session with the red and blue teams to analyze the effectiveness of the exercise and provide recommendations. 
   6. Documentation: The purple team will document the results of the exercise as a future reference point. 
   7. Continuous improvement: Based on the outcomes of the exercise, the organization will implement any changes to strengthen their defenses against spear-phishing attacks.

Challenges of purple teaming and how to mitigate them

While purple teaming offers significant benefits, it also comes with challenges. Here are some of these challenges and how they can be resolved:

Team collaboration hurdles

• Problem: red and blue teams working in silos can have a negative effect on collaboration.
• Solution: promote cross-training and team-building activities to foster open communication and mutual understanding.

Resource constraints

• Problem: balancing operational duties with purple teaming can strain resources.
• Solution: allocate dedicated time and resources for purple teaming exercises to ensure they are not overshadowed by day-to-day tasks.

Resistance to change

• Problem: team members may resist new processes or feel threatened. 
• Solution:  provide clear explanations for the purpose and benefits of purple teaming, and why it is necessary for processes to evolve.

Scope ambiguity

• Problem: unclear objectives and scope can lead to inefficient exercises.
• Solution: define precise goals, KPIS, and expectations for both red and blue teams.

Lack of executive support 

• Problem: insufficient backing from leadership can hinder progress.
• Solution: engage executives early, emphasising the importance of purple teaming for risk management and compliance.

Skill gaps 

• Problem: teams may lack the necessary skills for effective purple teaming
• Solution: invest in ongoing training and skill development programs to bridge knowledge gaps.

Measurement challenges

• Problem: difficulty in quantifying purple teaming outcomes may undermine its value. 
• Solution: establish KPIs  and metrics to evaluate the success and impact of purple teaming efforts.

Overlooking feedback 

• Problem: ignoring feedback from team members can hinder improvement.
• Solution: purple teams should actively gather and implement feedback from both teams to improve the processes and results of purple team exercises.

Scenario realism

• Problem: simulations that do not accurately reflect real threats can diminish the value of a purple team exercise
• Solution: ensure that exercises are designed with the latest threat intelligence and are regularly updated to reflect evolving risks.

Cultural resistance

• Problem: an organization’s culture may not readily embrace purple teaming. 
• Solution: educate employees on the value of purple teaming and a security first culture for defending against cyber threats and protecting ROI.

Final thoughts

Red and blue teams are both essential, but a purple team is the glue that makes them stronger together. By running structured purple team exercises and assessment continuously, organizationa can close knowledge gaps between both teams and build a stronger security system. 

At CovertSwarm, we specialize in red teaming, simulating constant real-world cyber attacks to help make sure that your organization is protected from both current and evolving cyber threats. 

We offer constant security testing, pen testing, and cybersecurity compliance services across multiple sectors to keep your business safe. 

If you want to find out more about how red team operations can strengthen your security strategy, contact the Swarm today.