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

Get Your Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what needs testing. You’ll get a scoped, fixed-fee quote back the same business day, from a senior assessor, not a sales rep. No obligation, no spam.

✓ Same-day response✓ Fixed-fee, no surprises✓ Senior testers only✓ Retest included

We reply within one business day with next steps. Your details are used only to scope your enquiry, never shared or sold.

✓ UK-based CREST member · ✓ QSA-led 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

Get My Fixed-Fee Quote

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.

Sample Red Team Report

Penetration Testing UK

CREST Penetration Testing

Financial Services package

DORA TLPT Red Team Provider
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

Three ways to test your defences for real

A penetration test finds vulnerabilities; a red team tests whether your people and detection stack notice an attacker using them. Pick the route by the question you need answered.

Assumed breach
Start where realistic attacks start: a foothold inside. Tests lateral movement, privilege escalation and detection without weeks of perimeter work.
  • ✓Fastest route to detection insight
  • ✓Fixed scope, fixed fee
  • ✓Findings mapped to MITRE ATT&CK
  • ✓Ideal first red engagement
Start assumed-breach
MOST CHOSEN
Red team + purple debrief
Full objective-based red team, then we replay every step with your blue team: what fired, what didn’t, and exactly which detections to build.
  • ✓Objective-based, intelligence-led scenario
  • ✓Strict rules of engagement, zero production damage
  • ✓Purple-team replay session included
  • ✓Detection engineering backlog as a deliverable
Scope the engagement
Regulated TLPT
Threat-led penetration testing under DORA and CBEST-style frameworks, scoped with your authority’s requirements and closure documentation included.
  • ✓DORA Articles 26/27 aligned
  • ✓Threat-intelligence-led scenarios
  • ✓Regulator-ready closure documentation
  • ✓Remediation validation included
Plan regulated TLPT

Regulated red teaming, framework by framework

Financial regulators no longer treat red teaming as optional. Each framework mandates external providers, threat-intelligence-led scenarios and strict confidentiality, and each has its own machinery we work inside, not around.

CBEST & STAR-FS (UK)
The Bank of England model for systemic firms, extended to the wider sector by STAR-FS since 2024. Intelligence-led scenarios against live critical functions, CREST-anchored provider expectations.
TIBER-EU
The ECB framework adopted across 20+ jurisdictions, updated in 2025 to serve as the route to DORA TLPT compliance. External red team and TI providers are mandatory, and a full cycle typically runs 22–32 weeks.
DORA TLPT (Articles 26–27)
Threat-led penetration testing for in-scope EU financial entities, with regulator-ready closure documentation. Delivered through our dedicated TLPT practice.
SAMA FEER (Saudi Arabia)
SAMA-regulated financial entities must run ethical red teaming at least once every three years under the FEER framework. Pairs naturally with our Saudi SWIFT CSP practice.
CBUAE expectations (UAE)
Adversary simulation aligned to UAE central-bank resilience expectations for banks and payment institutions, alongside our UAE SWIFT CSP work.
Objective-based (unregulated)
No mandate yet? The same intelligence-led method, scoped to the question your board is actually asking, without the regulatory overhead.

Intelligence-led, without the platform lock-in

Every regulated framework requires threat-intelligence-led scenarios, and some providers use that requirement to sell you a threat-intelligence platform subscription alongside the engagement. The frameworks themselves treat TI as a scoped deliverable: a targeting report built for your entity, feeding scenarios that mimic the actors genuinely aimed at your sector. That is exactly how we deliver it, sector threat profiling, scenario design mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, and TI documentation your regulator accepts, with nothing to subscribe to afterwards.

Confidentiality runs the same way. TIBER-EU is explicit that red team providers must not reuse engagement information for other purposes, and we hold every engagement to that standard whether regulated or not: your findings, artefacts and attack paths are never fed into a product, a research feed or anyone else’s intelligence platform.

Verify us before you shortlist us
Every credential we claim sits on a public register you can check in five minutes: CREST membership on the CREST directory, QSA Company status on the PCI SSC listings, SWIFT assessment provider status in the SWIFT directory, and ISO 27001/9001 certificates issued under UKAS accreditation. A UK-registered company, UK data handling, and evidence storage agreed in the rules of engagement. Ask every provider on your shortlist for the same list of links.
Safety is the design constraint
1
Rules of engagement first
Objectives, no-strike lists, stop conditions and comms channels agreed and signed before any activity.
2
Controlled execution
Senior operators, production-safe tooling, and a standing abort line. Critical exposures are flagged same-day, quietly.
3
Everyone gets smarter
Replay with your defenders, ATT&CK-mapped report, detection backlog, and a board-level narrative of what an attacker could actually do.

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.

No. CBEST, TIBER-EU, DORA TLPT and SAMA FEER all require threat-intelligence-led scoping, but the intelligence is an engagement deliverable, a targeting report and scenario set built for your entity, not a software subscription. Be wary of red team proposals that only make commercial sense if you also buy the vendor’s platform.

A full TIBER-EU or CBEST-style cycle typically runs 22 to 32 weeks end to end, including threat intelligence, testing, purple-team replay and closure. Assumed-breach and objective-based engagements outside the regulated frameworks run in weeks, not months, which is why many firms use them between regulatory cycles.
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-accredited 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-accredited 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-accredited testing.
Spear Phishing Simulation →
Social engineering component.
Ransomware Preparedness →
Scenario-specific resilience.
Incident Response Retainer →
Post-engagement IR readiness.
📞 Call us Book a call