What is Purple Team?

Understanding Purple Team

Purple Team exercises represent an evolution in security testing that breaks down the traditional separation between red teams (offensive security) and blue teams (defensive security). Instead of treating security testing as a competition where red teams try to evade detection and blue teams try to catch them, purple teaming takes a collaborative approach focused on improving defenses. Red teamers still simulate real-world attacks, but they work closely with defenders throughout the process, explaining their techniques and helping verify whether defenses are working as expected. This approach provides immediate feedback loops, where defensive controls can be adjusted and retested on the fly. It maximizes the educational value of security testing by ensuring defenders understand exactly how attacks work and how their tools detect (or miss) them. Organizations that implement purple team exercises typically see faster improvement in their security posture than those relying on either standard penetration tests or blue team monitoring alone.