Blog

What Are Red and Blue Teams in Cybersecurity?

Blog cover for What Are Red and Blue Teams in Cybersecurity. Black background. In the center, a photo of computer code displayed across multiple screens, framed within a pattern of interconnected circular shapes. Blue and red lighting accents highlight the screens, representing offensive and defensive cybersecurity testing. Insight Global logo in the bottom right corner.

Updated August 2026

Cybersecurity continues to face significant workforce challenges as organizations struggle to keep pace with evolving threats and technology. According to ISACA’s 2025 State of Cybersecurity Report, 55% of cybersecurity teams are understaffed and 65% have unfilled cybersecurity positions. As demand for cybersecurity talent continues to grow, organizations need strategies to strengthen their existing teams while attracting skilled professionals.

Protection against attacks is where red and blue teams within cybersecurity come into play. These teams work together to simulate attacks using real-life scenarios—all without endangering the company’s security. Here’s a quick breakdown of what red and blue teams do and why to keep them top of mind when hiring and maintaining your cybersecurity teams.

What Is a Red Team in Cybersecurity?

The Red Team replicate attacks on your company’s networks as well as other digital and physical assets. A Red Team may consist of people already in your company or outsourced cybersecurity experts you hire to attack your network over a specified period of time.

Red Teams tend to use many of the same attack methods and technologies that real attackers use to penetrate your defenses. But the key to an effective Red Team attack system is to make it as realistic as possible without actually affecting your company.

Some of the roles on this team include:

  • Team lead
  • Social engineers
  • Hackers or penetration testers

What Is a Blue Team in Cybersecurity?

The Blue Team’s goal is to stop the Red Team from landing a successful attack during these simulations. This consists of establishing and then using technologies and techniques for monitoring networks and then detecting and responding to attacks. And it may seem that the Blue Team and Red Team are on opposing sides of the digital battlefield, but they technically aren’t. They’re working together (in a unique way) to ensure your organization is protected against cybersecurity threats.

A Blue Team may start by using your company’s existing defense tools, but they might test out new tools during a simulation.

Some of the roles on this team include:

  • Team lead
  • Security engineers
  • Security analysts
  • Incident response individuals or teams
  • Forensic analysts

Related: Fraudsters Use the Same AI as Your Fraud Team

What Is “Purple Teaming?”

Purple Teaming refers to when the Red and Blue Teams work together to assess security issues and discover solutions. Rather than the process being blind, purple teaming involves more transparent collaboration.

Keeping Red and Blue Teams in Mind When Hiring Cybersecurity

Red and Blue teams can play an important role in helping organizations evaluate security controls, identify vulnerabilities, and improve incident response capabilities. This is why it’s important to keep this process in mind when hiring your team members.

During the hiring process, focusing on the following aspects will help you find that success. Here’s why:

  • Collaboration: Red and Blue teams require a lot of collaboration, so vetting those skills when hiring will help you source team members who can effectively add value during these simulated attacks.
  • Finding people with experience helps close skills gaps: As mentioned before, there’s a skills gap in cybersecurity, so finding candidates with experience with working on red and blue teams will likely help close that gap.
  • Keeping your company safe: Red and Blue Teams battles are important because they provide insight into how your defenses work when under attack and provide deeper visibility into vulnerabilities. Finding talent to work on these teams will ultimately ensure the safety of your company.

Technical expertise remains important, but cybersecurity leaders are increasingly prioritizing soft skills as well. In the ISACA report, adaptability was identified as the most important qualification when evaluating cybersecurity candidates, followed closely by prior hands-on experience. Organizations building red and blue teams should look for professionals who can communicate effectively, collaborate across functions, and adapt to evolving threats and technologies.

Related: 5 Expert Tips for Recruiting Cybersecurity Talent

Use Red and Blue Teams to Bolster Your Cybersecurity

A Red and Blue exercise is only as effective as the people involved. Insight Global can help you find the talent you need to improve your organization’s safety!

To get the most qualified cybersecurity professionals, connect with Insight Global today.

More Content