Black Teaming vs Red Teaming: Which Threat Simulation Do You Need?

Red Teaming is all about stepping into the shoes of a cyber attacker.

A Red Team operates in the digital domain, using the same tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that real‑world threat actors rely on. Their mission is simple: see how far they can get without being detected.

During an engagement, a Red Team will often:

• Launch phishing campaigns to trick users into revealing credentials or clicking malicious links

• Exploit network, cloud, or application vulnerabilities to establish an initial foothold

• Move laterally through the network, escalating privileges to access critical systems or data

• Evade detection by mimicking the stealth and patience of advanced threat groups

These exercises aren’t just about “breaking in”, they’re about testing your entire detection and response chain.

Example scenario:
It often starts small: a single phishing email lands in an inbox. An employee clicks, giving the attacker access to their account. From there, the Red Team quietly pivots through your network, mapping systems, escalating privileges, and eventually reaching sensitive data or even critical infrastructure. All the while, they’re watching to see if your security team notices and how quickly they respond.

The real value of Red Teaming lies in the context it provides. It’s not just a list of vulnerabilities - it shows how multiple small weaknesses can be chained together into a real‑world breach, and whether your organisation would detect and contain it in time.

While Red Teams focus on your networks and systems, Black Teams step into the real world—testing the physical side of your security.

Think of them as determined intruders, moving like a real‑world attacker would, looking for any weakness they can exploit to get inside. Their goal is simple: prove whether someone could walk into your business and compromise it without anyone noticing.

During a Black Team engagement, tactics often include:

• Tailgating behind employees to slip into restricted areas undetected

• Cloning access badges or bypassing physical locks to open doors that should stay closed

• Planting rogue devices - small, discreet gadgets that quietly connect to your internal network

• Testing staff awareness to see if anyone challenges a stranger wandering the building

Example scenario:
A Black Team might start by observing your site for several days, learning staff routines and identifying weak entry points. On test day, they follow an employee through a side entrance, carrying nothing more than a laptop bag. Once inside, they slide a tiny device under a desk, leave without attracting attention, and within minutes that device is talking to your network. No alarms triggered. No one challenged them. To your security team, it looks like an ordinary day - until the debrief.

The real value of Black Teaming is that it exposes vulnerabilities digital testing can’t touch. It answers critical questions such as:

• Could someone physically access sensitive areas without detection?

• Would staff challenge unauthorised individuals or let them walk by?

• Are your cameras, alarms, and access controls strong enough to stop a real intruder?

In other words, Black Teaming shines a light on the human and physical factors that often make or break security in the real world.

While both simulate real‑world attacks, Red and Black Teaming differ in focus, domain, and outcome:

Choosing between Red and Black Teaming depends on your current priorities and risk areas:

• If your focus is cyber resilience - start with Red Teaming.

• If you’re worried about physical security - choose Black Teaming.

• If you want to see how attackers could combine both - run a joint Red + Black engagement for full‑spectrum visibility.

For many organisations, a phased approach works best:

1. Begin with Red Teaming to understand digital exposure.

2. Layer in Black Teaming to test the physical angle.

3. Optionally, follow up with Purple Teaming - a collaborative exercise where your SOC and defenders learn to detect the exact attack paths uncovered.

Modern attackers rarely stick to one method. They move between digital and physical tactics, always looking for the weakest link.

It begins with a single phishing email. An employee clicks, and suddenly the attacker has their login credentials. From that tiny foothold, they creep deeper, moving through the network, testing what they can reach.

Then the attack steps into the real world. Using the stolen credentials, they clone an access badge. The next morning, someone walks through your doors unnoticed, plugs in a small device under a desk, and leaves. Hours later, sensitive data is already leaving your network - and your security team might not know until it’s too late.

By combining Red and Black Teaming, you’re recreating that exact multi‑stage threat. You see how a breach could move from the inbox to the server room, and where your defences would hold or fail.

At Bulletproof, our joint engagements blend digital and physical attacks into a single narrative, so your team experiences the attack chain end‑to‑end. The result isn’t just a list of vulnerabilities. It’s a real, actionable understanding of how a sophisticated attacker could compromise your business, and what to fix before it happens for real.