Red Teaming: Cybersecurity Testing and Its Role in Combatting AI Social Engineering Threats

Red Teaming Overview

As cyberattacks become more sophisticated by the day, red teaming has emerged as one of the most effective methods to assess an organization’s readiness to defend against real-world threats. But what exactly is red teaming, and how has it evolved to counter today’s emerging threats, particularly those driven by artificial intelligence (AI)?

At its core, red teaming is a practice that involves ethical hackers emulating the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of real-world adversaries. Unlike penetration testing, which focuses on finding and exploiting technical vulnerabilities, red teaming takes a more holistic approach. It’s not just about hacking systems; it’s about testing an organization’s entire security posture, from technical defenses to human factors. The red team’s objective is often to achieve a specific outcome, such as breaching sensitive data, without being detected by the blue team—the internal defenders.

Red teaming exercises provide actionable insights by showing how well an organization can withstand and respond to attacks. They help companies identify and remediate gaps before actual threat actors can exploit them.

Evolution of Red Teaming Practices

Red teaming, in its early stages, was primarily a military concept. The U.S. military has long used red teams to challenge plans, identify weaknesses, and improve decision-making. In the early days, red teams were often external consultants brought in to perform periodic assessments, typically focused on physical security or network vulnerabilities.

By the late 20th century, the practice had been adopted by the private sector, particularly in industries such as finance and critical infrastructure, which recognized the importance of proactively identifying vulnerabilities. As cybersecurity grew in importance, red teaming shifted towards digital defenses, and the exercise evolved into a broader, more complex discipline. Exabeam’s survey showed that 92% of companies are now conducting red team exercises as of 2020, up from 72% in 2019.

The rise of sophisticated cyberattacks, such as ransomware and nation-state espionage, has driven significant changes in how red teaming is conducted. Today’s red teams focus not only on breaking through firewalls or breaching physical barriers but also on credential harvesting, social engineering, and open-source intelligence (OSINT) gathering. 

Credential Harvesting and Social Engineering in Red Teaming

In recent years, credential harvesting has become a critical aspect of red teaming exercises. Cybercriminals often leverage OSINT tools to gather information about an organization’s employees, which they then use in social engineering attacks. Red teams mimic these tactics to expose the human vulnerabilities in a company's defenses.

For instance, a red team might scour social media profiles, LinkedIn, or corporate websites to gather information about key personnel, such as executives. They can then launch phishing campaigns that appear highly personalized, tricking employees into revealing their credentials or downloading malware. By simulating these attacks, red teams can demonstrate how easy it is for attackers to bypass technical defenses by exploiting human error.

Red Teaming for Technical Infrastructure

While social engineering is a major focus, technical infrastructure remains a vital component of red teaming exercises. Red teams continue to test firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and patch management practices. They may employ techniques like lateral movement, privilege escalation, and data exfiltration to simulate how an attacker could penetrate deeper into a network after gaining initial access.

But modern red teaming goes beyond identifying system vulnerabilities. Red teams now engage in what’s known as continuous automated red teaming (CART), where automated tools simulate ongoing attacks, providing real-time feedback on an organization’s defenses. This continuous approach addresses one of the key limitations of traditional red teaming: it only provides a snapshot of a company’s defenses at a specific point in time.

The Future of Red Teaming: AI and Emerging Threat Vectors

As AI continues to advance, red teaming will evolve to address new forms of attacks, particularly those driven by artificial intelligence. One notable example of an emerging threat is AI social engineering, where attackers use machine learning models to craft highly convincing phishing emails, deepfake audio, and even video. These tactics blur the lines between real and fake, making it increasingly difficult for employees to distinguish legitimate communications from malicious ones.

Take “Project Naptime," an AI vulnerability research initiative that highlights how AI can be used both defensively and offensively. On one hand, AI can help organizations better identify threats and automate response efforts. On the other hand, AI can be weaponized to enhance phishing campaigns, create deepfakes of executives, or develop sophisticated smishing attacks that are indistinguishable from legitimate communications.

To combat these emerging threats, organizations are turning to security awareness training that incorporates AI-powered simulations. By training employees to recognize AI-enhanced attacks like phishing and voice cloning, companies can better prepare their workforce for the evolving threat landscape. For instance, Adaptive’s AI Phishing Training offers realistic simulations using actual executive voices and tailored scenarios to teach employees how to identify and respond to these sophisticated attacks.

The Role of AI in Security Awareness Training

AI is also being used in phishing training programs to counteract AI-enhanced social engineering attacks. Traditional phishing training often falls short when faced with AI-generated content, which is designed to be more convincing than typical phishing emails. To address this gap, AI-driven training programs use machine learning algorithms to analyze employee responses to phishing simulations and adapt the difficulty level accordingly. These systems can also generate personalized phishing attacks that reflect the specific risks faced by an organization, helping employees stay one step ahead of attackers.

Red teaming has advanced since its origins in the military, evolving to meet the challenges posed by today’s rapidly changing cyber threat landscape. With the rise of AI social engineering, organizations need to stay ahead of attackers by incorporating cutting-edge techniques like continuous automated red teaming and AI-driven Security Awareness Training. As AI continues to shape the future of cyberattacks, red teaming will remain an essential tool in the fight against increasingly sophisticated adversaries.

By adopting modern red teaming practices and staying vigilant against emerging threats, companies can strengthen their defenses and better protect against the next generation of cyberattacks. For more information on red teaming and how Adaptive can help your organization prepare for AI-enhanced threats, visit our product page.

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