Purple teaming is a collaborative security exercise that brings together offensive (red team) and defensive (blue team) capabilities to improve an organisation's detection and response posture. Unlike adversarial red team exercises where the blue team is unaware, purple teaming is a cooperative effort where attackers and defenders work side by side.
The red team executes specific attack techniques while the blue team observes whether their tools and processes detect the activity, then jointly works to improve detection rules, response playbooks, and security controls. Purple teaming uses frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK to systematically test coverage across different attack techniques, identify detection gaps, and develop specific mitigations.
This approach maximises the value of both offensive and defensive capabilities by ensuring that every attack technique tested leads to a measurable improvement in detection and response. Purple teaming is particularly effective for organisations that have invested in security operations and want to optimise their return on security tooling investments. It provides clear, actionable outcomes and measurable improvement in security posture.
UK offensive security consultancy delivering CREST-accredited penetration testing, adversary simulation and CBEST, TIBER-EU and TBEST threat-led testing, mainly for financial services and other large organisations.
Munich- and Budapest-based embedded cybersecurity experts focused on financial services, automotive and mobility, manufacturing and industrial automation, energy and more. The services and platform go beyond compliance, supporting the requirements of the Cyber Resilience Act, PCI PTS, UN R155, ISO/SAE 21434 and other standards and regulations.
Global enterprise cybersecurity consultancy founded in 1999 in Oxford, holding rare CREST STAR-FS accreditation and delivering penetration testing, red and purple teaming, and PCI QSA services across five international offices.
CREST and CHECK-accredited UK penetration testing and managed security provider formed in 2026 from Pentest People, Bulletproof, and Target Defense, with CREST STAR/TLPT-FS capability and the GuardNest vulnerability management platform.
Fast-growing CREST and CHECK-accredited UK cybersecurity consultancy with deep expertise in critical national infrastructure sectors.
World-renowned cybersecurity firm now part of Google Cloud, delivering threat intelligence-led penetration testing and red teaming informed by front-line incident response experience.
US penetration testing firm founded in 2011, running 600+ engagements a year with a fully remote, US-based team. Manual, expert-led testing across web, network, cloud, mobile, wireless, OT/ICS, and AI/LLM. Gartner Sample Vendor for PTaaS.
Offensive security firm founded by former NSA operator David Kennedy, delivering CREST-accredited penetration testing, red teaming, and adversary simulation to Fortune 500 and government clients.
Cybersecurity division of the Thales Group, with ANSSI, CREST, FedRAMP 3PAO, and NATO-cleared personnel. Defence, government, and critical infrastructure penetration testing worldwide.
US-headquartered cybersecurity consultancy with 800+ employees, serving ~40% of the Fortune 500. FedRAMP 3PAO, PCI QSA, and HITRUST accreditations.
Helsinki-headquartered Finnish cybersecurity firm with roots dating to 1988, offering CREST-accredited penetration testing and deep expertise in EU regulatory compliance including GDPR, NIS 2, and TIBER-EU.
CREST-accredited Canadian pen testing firm with a 95% manual-first approach. All testers hold OSCP minimum certification. Zero false positive guarantee.
Red teaming is adversarial - the blue team does not know when or how attacks will occur. Purple teaming is collaborative - both teams work together in real-time to test and improve detection and response capabilities.
You need a functioning security operations capability with detection tools (SIEM, EDR), defined response processes, and staff who can participate in the exercises. Purple teaming works best when there is a baseline of security maturity.
Results are measured in terms of detection coverage (percentage of tested techniques detected), mean time to detect, mean time to respond, and specific improvements made to detection rules and response playbooks.