In our previous blog, we discussed who the Red and Blue Teams are, what they do, and how they are different from each other. We also talked about the emergence of a new team- the Purple Team. The Purple Team is essentially a combination of both the Red and Blue Teams and ensures both teams are working towards a common goal- which is securing your organization.
With technologies and threats becoming more advanced every day, it’s crucial that these teams are working diligently to keep your systems secured. In this blog, we discuss the benefits of a purple team and how to align your Red and Blue teams.
The Benefits of a Purple Team
Having a Red Team and Blue Team as part of your cybersecurity strategy offers several benefits. The Red team is a proactive group of cybersecurity experts that identify vulnerabilities in your systems. Plus, they also provide expert guidance on regulatory items and emerging threats. The Blue team is a reactive group of system and security experts that focus on eliminating the risks and vulnerabilities the Red team identifies.
However, often times, the two teams aren’t always working together towards a common goal because they are each focused on their individual objectives. That means there is no continuous feedback between the two teams. Many organizations tend to rush to implement a short-term security program that they fail to leverage a red and blue team collaboration which can promote long-term cybersecurity and strategy.
Streamlined processes
The Purple Team comes in to unite the Red and Blue Teams. By encouraging collaboration of these two teams, they can work together towards a common goal – mitigating risk and cyber threats. These two teams often compete with each other since one is focusing on preventing breaches and the other is focused on succeeding in a breach. By bringing the two forces together, the Purple Team can maximize the effectiveness of both teams, bring more awareness to threats, and build better defenses.
Efficient and cost effective
Having a Purple Team can also reduce costs and save time. Because purple teaming allows for both teams to become transparent with each other, they are able to achieve more in a shorter timeframe and at lower costs due to the reduction of external sources.
Enhanced insights and knowledge
Purple teaming can also help you zero in on your risks and policies. If you’re doing a Purple Team engagement, you’re actively improving your systems- it can find gaps in processes and procedure policies, and identify areas for improvement.
How Guide Star Can Help
As a Blue Team leader, Guide Star believes in the Purple Team approach because we find we are able to help our customers remediate their risk the best when we are actively working in lockstep with their Red Team. We see more value when that engagement between the two teams is together as opposed to the traditional, individual team approach. Purple Team engagements keeps things moving and helps streamline processes.
As mentioned before, the goal for both of these teams is the same thing- eliminate risk in your environment. If the Blue Team fights off an attack, it’s not a failure for the Red Team. If the Red Team gets in, it’s not a failure for the Blue Team. It creates a one team mindset and eliminates blame culture.
Interested in the Purple Team approach? At Guide Star, we take a Blue Team approach and we are here to engage with you and your Red Team to customize a plan towards your wants and needs. We can also refer you to our partners if you are looking for a Red Team.
If this is something your company may be interested in exploring, connect with us and start your plan today.
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