In today’s cyber threat landscape, no organisation – large or small – is immune to attack. From ransomware incidents targeting local councils to state-sponsored cyber espionage campaigns against multinational corporations, every business is a potential target.
While many organisations already invest in traditional security measures such as firewalls, endpoint protection, and annual penetration tests, these often fail to fully prepare teams for real-world threats. Why? Because they frequently assess either defensive or offensive capabilities in isolation, rather than combining the two.
This is where Purple Team exercises come in – a collaborative, high-impact approach to security testing that can dramatically improve your resilience against cyber attacks.
What Is a Purple Team Exercise?
The term Purple Team comes from blending Red Teams (offensive security testers who simulate attacks) with Blue Teams (defensive security teams who detect, respond, and contain threats).
In a Purple Team exercise, these two groups work together in real time. The Red Team executes realistic attack scenarios, while the Blue Team attempts to detect and respond – but instead of working in isolation, they share information and insights during the process.
The result?
- The Blue Team learns exactly how the attack was executed and what signals to look for.
- The Red Team sees which defensive measures worked and which didn’t.
- Both teams leave with actionable improvements.
It’s a shift from “gotcha” testing to collaborative capability building.
Why Traditional Red and Blue Team Exercises Aren’t Enough
Many organisations already use Red Teaming and Blue Teaming, but these are often run as separate, siloed activities.
With Red Teaming:
- The attackers try to get in without being detected.
- The defenders don’t know the attacks are happening until after the fact.
- The debrief happens at the end, sometimes weeks later.
With Blue Teaming:
- The defenders focus on improving detection and response capabilities.
- The attackers aren’t actively working against them during the exercise.
Both approaches have value, but they can miss the real-world benefit of seeing how attacks and defences interact in the moment. Purple Teaming closes this gap.
Key Benefits of Purple Team Exercises
1. Real-Time Knowledge Transfer
Instead of waiting until the end of a test to learn what happened, the Blue Team gets immediate feedback during the exercise. They can see exactly how an attacker bypassed a control, which alerts fired (or didn’t), and how they can tune their systems on the fly.
2. Sharpened Incident Response Skills
Detection is only half the battle. Purple Teaming allows defenders to practise incident response procedures in a realistic environment.
From initial detection to triage, containment, and eradication, these exercises provide a safe way to rehearse high-stakes decision-making.
3. Faster Security Maturity Growth
Because feedback is immediate, organisations can see measurable improvements within a single session. A control or detection rule can be updated mid-exercise, and the Red Team can retest instantly.
This iterative loop accelerates the maturity of your security programme.
4. Cost-Effective for All Business Sizes
A common misconception is that advanced security testing is only for large enterprises with big budgets. In reality, Purple Team exercises can be scaled to suit the resources and risk profile of any business.
Small organisations can focus on high-priority threats, while larger ones can run complex, multi-vector attack simulations.
5. Builds a Culture of Collaboration
Security teams often feel the “us vs. them” divide between offence and defence. Purple Teaming removes this tension, fostering mutual respect and shared objectives. This culture shift often leads to better cross-departmental communication and collaboration outside the exercise.
What Happens During a Purple Team Exercise?
While the specifics will vary depending on your goals, a typical Purple Team exercise follows these stages:
- Objective Setting Define what you want to test – e.g., phishing resilience, lateral movement detection, ransomware response.
- Rules of Engagement Agree on scope, time frames, tools, and whether production systems can be touched.
- Baseline Assessment Understand your current detection capabilities before the simulation begins.
- Attack Execution (Red Team) The offensive team performs a realistic attack, such as:
- Spear-phishing email
- Exploiting an unpatched service
- Credential stuffing
- Simulated ransomware deployment
- Live Collaboration (Purple Mode) As each attack phase unfolds, the Red and Blue Teams discuss:
- How the attack was initiated
- What evidence exists in logs or monitoring tools
- Which defences worked or failed
- Detection and Response Tuning (Blue Team) The defensive team applies improvements immediately and tests them again.
- Debrief and Action Plan Document findings, assign remediation actions, and set timelines for improvements.
Examples of Purple Team Scenarios for Any Business Size
Here’s how Purple Teaming might look in practice for different-sized organisations:
Small Business (10–50 employees)
- Simulated phishing attack with follow-on credential theft.
- Blue Team works on spotting phishing indicators and monitoring for unusual logins.
- Quick wins: Email filtering rules, MFA enforcement, phishing awareness training.
Mid-Sized Business (50–500 employees)
- Red Team gains access via a misconfigured VPN, attempts lateral movement.
- Blue Team monitors endpoint detection and SIEM alerts in real time.
- Quick wins: Patch management improvements, segmentation of sensitive systems, enhanced log visibility.
Large Enterprise (500+ employees)
- Multi-stage attack: Spear-phishing, privilege escalation, data exfiltration over covert channels.
- Blue Team must coordinate across SOC, IT, and business units under simulated time pressure.
- Quick wins: Playbook refinement, automated containment scripts, cross-team communications training.
Common Misconceptions About Purple Teaming
“It’s too advanced for us.”
Not true – exercises can be scaled to your size and maturity.
“We don’t have a dedicated Red Team.”
You can hire external penetration testers to play the Red Team role while your internal staff focus on defence.
“It’s too disruptive.”
When planned properly, exercises can run in test environments or during off-peak hours to minimise impact.
How to Get Started with Purple Teaming
- Assess Your Current Security Posture Understand your defensive capabilities, including tooling and skills.
- Identify Your Highest Risks Focus your first exercise on the threats most likely to affect you.
- Find the Right Partner If you don’t have an internal Red Team, work with a reputable security provider experienced in Purple Teaming.
- Run a Pilot Exercise Start small, measure improvements, then expand to more complex scenarios.
- Integrate Into Regular Operations Make Purple Teaming a recurring part of your security programme, not a one-off event.
Conclusion
Cyber security isn’t just about having the right tools – it’s about knowing how to use them effectively against real-world threats.
Purple Team exercises bridge the gap between offence and defence, delivering rapid improvements, better collaboration, and a security posture that grows stronger with every session.
Whether you’re a small start-up, a growing SME, or a global enterprise, adopting a Purple Team approach could be one of the most impactful steps you take to secure your business.
Attackers don’t care about your size – but with Purple Teaming, you’ll make sure you’re ready for them.