What it examines
Purple teaming runs selected attack techniques in cooperation with the defensive team. Testers and defenders agree the techniques and objectives beforehand, then review together what was visible, what triggered an alert and how the response unfolded. The aim is to strengthen detection rules and response steps, not to score a win or a loss.
Questions it helps answer
- Which attack techniques would we see, and which would we miss?
- Do our alerts and logs show the activity clearly enough to act on?
- Which response steps need to be clearer or faster?
When it is useful
- Validating new detection rules or monitoring use cases.
- Building a security operations team’s skills against realistic techniques.
- Following up on gaps found during a red team exercise.
How the engagement is scoped
- Agree techniques, objectives and participating teams before the exercise.
- Run collaborative exercises with the defensive team present.
- Review defensive visibility, alerting and response together.
- Validate agreed changes where they are included in the engagement.
Typical deliverables
These are typical deliverables. The actual scope and deliverables are agreed for each engagement.
- Techniques exercised and their coverage.
- Detection and response observations.
- Identified gaps in visibility or process.
- Prioritised improvement actions.
Relevant assurance context
Technical findings can inform risk treatment, security improvements and assurance evidence. The appropriate assessment depends on your obligations, environment and objectives.
Testing supports a wider assurance programme; it does not establish compliance or certification on its own.