Purple teaming is a collaborative approach that bridges the traditional divide between offensive (red team) and defensive (blue team) security operations.
Rather than operating in isolation, where the red team performs attacks and the blue team defends without communication, purple team exercises involve continuous collaboration between both sides. The red team shares their techniques, tools, and tactics with the blue team in real-time or shortly after execution, whilst the blue team provides feedback on what they detected and what they missed. This collaborative approach transforms adversarial testing into a learning opportunity focused on improving the overall security posture of an organisation.
The purple team approach is particularly effective for organisations looking to rapidly improve their detection and response capabilities. By understanding exactly how attacks were executed and why certain techniques evaded detection, blue teams can fine-tune their security controls, update detection rules, and adjust monitoring strategies with precision. Similarly, red teams gain insights into which defences are most effective, helping them develop more sophisticated testing scenarios.
Purple teaming sessions often focus on specific threats relevant to the organisation, or emerging attack techniques, which could make them highly targeted and actionable. This methodology is appealing for organisations that recognise the collaboration between offensive and defensive security teams accelerates improvement more effectively than purely adversarial approaches.