// THREAT DETECTION AND DATA PRIVACY TERM
Purple Team
A Purple Team is a collaborative group where offensive security professionals (Red Team) and defensive security professionals (Blue Team) work together to improve an organization's overall security. They share insights from simulated attacks to immediately fix vulnerabilities and enhance detection methods.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A Purple Team is a cybersecurity function that integrates the offensive tactics of a Red Team (attack simulation, penetration testing) with the defensive strategies of a Blue Team (threat detection, incident response) in a continuous feedback loop to improve an organization's cyber defense posture. This collaborative approach tests, measures, and enhances security controls and operational resilience against specific adversary techniques.
BACKGROUND
A red team is a group that simulates an adversary, attempts a physical or digital intrusion against an organization at the direction of that organization, then reports back so that the organization can improve their defenses. Red teams work for the organization or are hired by the organization. Their work is legal, but it can surprise some employees who may not know that red teaming is occurring, or who may be deceived by the red team. Some definitions of red team are broader, and they include any group within an organization that is directed to think outside the box and look at alternative scenarios that are considered less plausible. This directive can be an important defense against false assumptions and groupthink. The term red teaming originated in the 1960s in the United States.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Red/Blue Team collaboration
- Threat-informed defense
- Adversary emulation and defense
- Continuous security validation
- Collaborative security testing
- Hunt teaming
USAGE NOTE
The term 'Purple Team' often describes a functional approach or a specific exercise rather than a permanent, dedicated team.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Purple Team.
Develops a Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) platform that continuously simulates real-world cyber threats to validate and improve the effectiveness of security controls, facilitating a data-driven purple teaming approach.
Provides a security optimization platform that enables automated breach and attack simulation. It helps purple teams test their security controls, processes, and people against specific adversary behaviors mapped to frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK.
Offers the Mandiant Security Validation platform (formerly Verodin) which provides evidence-based assessment of security effectiveness. The platform allows organizations to continuously test their security stack against a wide range of attacks, enabling purple teams to identify gaps and prioritize improvements.
Provides an adversary emulation platform that allows red and purple teams to create and launch customized, realistic cyber-attacks to test and improve blue team detection and response capabilities in a collaborative manner.
Offers a comprehensive Security Posture Management platform that includes Breach and Attack Simulation. It allows organizations to continuously challenge, validate, and optimize their security controls, providing a unified platform for purple team exercises.
Develops a breach and attack simulation platform that continuously executes thousands of breach methods from an extensive playbook of real-world attacks. It helps purple teams visualize attack paths and prioritize remediation efforts based on business risk.
A non-profit organization that develops and maintains the MITRE ATT&CK framework, a globally accessible knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques. This framework serves as the common language and foundation for most purple team operations and the technologies they use.
Provides a suite of security tools that support both offensive and defensive operations. Products like Metasploit for penetration testing (red team) and InsightIDR for threat detection and response (blue team) create an ecosystem that enables effective purple teaming within an organization.