Purple Teaming

Purple teaming is a collaborative security exercise where offensive (red team) and defensive (blue team) experts work together to improve an organisation’s detection, response, and overall security effectiveness.

Short Definition

Purple teaming brings red team attackers and blue team defenders into a shared, iterative process to test attacks, observe responses, and strengthen security controls in real time.

Expanded Definition

Traditional red teaming and penetration testing can sometimes create an “us vs. them” dynamic, where the red team attacks and the blue team only learns what happened at the end of the engagement. Purple teaming removes this divide.

In a purple team exercise, both teams openly collaborate. The red team demonstrates specific attack techniques—such as phishing, privilege escalation, lateral movement, or data exfiltration—while the blue team actively observes, detects, and responds in real time. Together, they analyse what worked, what didn’t, and what improvements are needed.

This joint learning approach allows organisations to build better detection rules, tune monitoring tools, improve incident response plans, and understand attacker behaviour more deeply. Purple teaming isn’t a single test—it’s a continuous cycle of testing, feedback, and refinement.

Why It Matters

Purple teaming matters because it accelerates security maturity. Instead of waiting until the end of a red team engagement to discover gaps, you identify weaknesses as they happen and address them immediately.

It is especially valuable for organisations looking to:

• Improve SOC visibility and detection capabilities
• Enhance incident response workflows
• Train defensive teams using real-world attack scenarios
• Validate security tooling (SIEM, EDR, XDR)
• Bridge communication gaps between offensive and defensive teams

Ultimately, purple teaming helps organisations build a more proactive and resilient security posture.

When It’s Relevant / Common Use Cases

Purple teaming is most relevant for organisations that want hands-on collaboration rather than purely adversarial testing. It’s particularly useful when:

• A company is developing or maturing a SOC
• Incident response processes need refinement
• Security tools require tuning for better detection
• Red team exercises previously uncovered gaps that need immediate follow-up
• Technical teams want ongoing training in attacker techniques

Sectors such as finance, technology, critical infrastructure, and government often use purple teaming to sharpen both offensive and defensive capabilities at the same time.

Examples / Analogies

Think of purple teaming like a joint training session between firefighters and controlled-burn specialists. One group sets the conditions for realistic danger, while the other practises responding—and both learn from each other to improve future performance.

Or imagine a football team where attackers and defenders train together, pausing plays to review tactics, strengthen weaknesses, and try again with new strategies.

TL;DR Summary

Purple teaming is a cooperative security approach where red and blue teams work side by side to simulate attacks, analyse defensive responses, and strengthen an organisation’s security in real time. It turns adversarial testing into a powerful, iterative learning process.