red teaming
Simulated hostile probing
Red teaming is the practice of attacking a system to find its weaknesses, with the goal of strengthening it.
Originally military—a designated group (the red team) plays the enemy in war games—the concept now applies to cybersecurity, AI safety, and organizational planning.
Red teamers probe for vulnerabilities before real adversaries do: We red-teamed the product before launch.
The verb is to red-team.
Authorized security vulnerability assessment
- ethical hackingAuthorized security vulnerability testing
- exploitNotable act or abuse
- phishingFraudulent credential harvesting
- social engineeringManipulating people for information
intrusion detection · zero-day · network security · white hat · black hat · bug bounty · reconnaissance · payload
Sovereign political territory
- insider threatDanger from within organization
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- evasionAct of escaping detection
- persistenceContinuing despite difficulty
Evaluating potential for harm
- risk analysisEvaluating likelihood of harm
- attack vectorMethod of intrusion
- rules of engagementConstraints on military action
- reconnaissanceInformation-gathering before action
enumeration · exploitation · reporting · remediation · debriefing · findings · gap analysis
Acting out characters
- drillHole-boring device
- stress testingEvaluating capacity under extreme conditions
- opposing forcePower working against another
penetration testing
Authorized security vulnerability assessment
- ethical hackingAuthorized security vulnerability testing
- exploitNotable act or abuse
- phishingFraudulent credential harvesting
social engineering · intrusion detection · zero-day · network security · white hat · black hat · bug bounty · reconnaissance · payload · privilege escalation
nation-state
Sovereign political territory
- insider threatDanger from within organization
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- evasionAct of escaping detection
threat assessment
Evaluating potential for harm
- risk analysisEvaluating likelihood of harm
- attack vectorMethod of intrusion
- rules of engagementConstraints on military action
reconnaissance · enumeration · exploitation · reporting · remediation · debriefing · findings · gap analysis
role-playing
Acting out characters
- drillHole-boring device
- stress testingEvaluating capacity under extreme conditions
- opposing forcePower working against another
red teamingvalidation
Confirming truth or accuracy
confirmation · rubber-stamping · groupthink · affirmation · endorsement
red, team, teamwork, teammate, teamed, teaming, teammates, teambuilding, teamsport