Cyber threats are innovating faster than many organisations can respond, and employing traditional defensive measures alone is no longer enough.
To keep pace, modern cyber security teams are moving beyond siloed operations and adopting Purple Teaming to build a stronger, more adaptive security posture.
Purple Teaming is a structured collaboration between the Red Team (offensive security) and the Blue Team (defensive security). Rather than operating independently or adversarially, both teams work together to share knowledge, refine detection and response capabilities, and continuously improve the organisation’s security maturity.
Red Teams simulate real-world cyberattacks using the tools, tactics, and techniques (TTPs) employed by threat actors. Their goal is to expose vulnerabilities and test the effectiveness of existing defences.
Blue Teams focus on detecting, defending, and responding to these simulated attacks, commonly using a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform or Security Operations Centre (SOC).
By integrating these two functions into a Purple Team, organisations benefit from a live feedback loop, where every simulated attack becomes a learning exercise for both sides. The result is faster detection, stronger prevention, and a shared understanding of how to respond to real threats.
The strength of Purple Teaming lies in its ability to close the traditional gap between attack and defence.
In a typical engagement, the Red Team launches controlled attacks designed to mimic real adversaries, while the Blue Team detects and mitigates them in real time. Throughout the process, both teams share insights - for instance, how an attack was detected (or missed), what data was useful, and how to strengthen monitoring and alerting systems.
This cycle of collaboration enables continuous improvement across several key areas:
Improved Incident Detection and Response: By jointly analysing attack simulations, teams can identify detection gaps, reduce false positives, and build more precise response playbooks. This leads to faster, more confident reactions when genuine incidents occur.
Stronger Threat Intelligence: Red and Blue collaboration helps security teams understand not only known attack methods, but emerging and niche tactics as well. This awareness supports more proactive threat hunting and risk mitigation strategies.
Refined Defensive Engineering: Insights from simulated attacks often lead to practical improvements, from fine-tuning SIEM dashboards and alerts, to reconfiguring endpoint detection rules or patching critical vulnerabilities more effectively.
Skill Development and Knowledge Sharing: Purple Teaming fosters an environment of open communication and continual learning. Blue Teams gain insight into offensive tactics, while Red Teams better understand detection logic and defensive architecture, creating a more versatile, cross-trained security workforce.
Purple Teaming is particularly valuable for organisations that already have established security operations but want to take their cyber maturity to the next level. It’s ideal for those aiming to:
Even mature security teams benefit from regular Purple Team exercises, which ensure defences remain agile and aligned with the latest adversary tactics.
Historically, Red and Blue Teams have been viewed as opposing forces - one trying to breach, the other trying to defend. Purple Teaming replaces this rivalry with partnership.
By sharing knowledge, testing controls collaboratively, and continuously refining strategies, organisations gain not just stronger defences, but a more unified cyber security function.
It’s this shift, from adversarial testing to collective learning, that makes Purple Teaming so powerful.
For organisations serious about advancing their security posture, a Purple Team engagement is one of the most effective ways to align people, process, and technology, and build a culture of continuous improvement.