Red Team Explained
Red Teaming in the Cloud vs. Cloud Penetration Testing
Red teaming in the cloud and cloud penetration testing are two distinct offensive security approaches tailored to cloud-native environments. As organizations accelerate cloud adoption and integrate technologies, such as infrastructure as code and GenAI, security teams must understand how each assessment method aligns with their risk exposure and maturity.
What Is Cloud Penetration Testing?
Cloud penetration testing is a structured evaluation that identifies vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in cloud infrastructure and service. This includes testing virtual machines, identity and access management (IAM) policies, storage buckets, APIs, and application environments hosted on various platforms (e.g. AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
Security teams use cloud penetration testing to:
- Identify exposed services and misconfigured IAM roles
- Evaluate network segmentation and privilege boundaries
- Validate encryption, key management, and storage policies
- Satisfy compliance mandates related to cloud security
Cloud penetration testing engagements are typically scoped and time-bound with a focus on broad visibility. They often follow a white-box or gray-box model to maximize coverage and testing depth.
What is Red Teaming in the Cloud?
Red teaming in the cloud emulates real-world adversaries operating within or targeting a cloud environment. Rather than focusing on vulnerabilities alone, red team operations simulate threat actors with goals such as data exfiltration or persistence within cloud-native infrastructure.
Common red teaming-in-the-cloud scenarios include:
- Compromising a cloud identity provider to move laterally between accounts
- Exploiting trust relationships across multi-cloud or hybrid environments
- Gaining persistence via Lambda functions or container escape
- Triggering alert evasion techniques against cloud-native detection tools
These operations test the readiness of both cloud engineering teams and SOC analysts to detect and respond to modern threats in cloud-centric architectures.
Comparison: Cloud Penetration Testing vs. Red Teaming in the Cloud
| Attribute | Cloud Penetration Testing | Red Teaming in the Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Identify vulnerabilities and misconfigurations | Emulate threat actors targeting cloud infrastructure |
| Scope | Defined cloud assets and services | Broad attack paths across cloud-native environments |
| Methodology | Tool-assisted, guided, compliance-aligned | Stealthy, scenario-driven, threat-informed |
| Timeline | Short (1–3 weeks) | Extended (4–12+ weeks) |
| Attack Simulation | No | Yes (credential theft, evasion) |
| Outcome | Vulnerability report with remediation guidance | Attack narrative, detection evaluation, strategic insight |
| Testing Model | White-box or gray-box preferred | Black-box, gray-box, or assumed-breach |
| Maturity Requirement | Foundational to intermediate | Advanced, requires existing detection infrastructure |
When to Use Cloud Penetration Testing
Cloud penetration testing is ideal for:
- Organizations transitioning to cloud or revalidating configurations post-deployment
- Security teams needing compliance validation (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001)
- Environments requiring identification of IAM misconfigurations and storage exposures
These tests are effective at revealing high-risk findings, such as exposed S3 buckets and improperly secured Kubernetes clusters.
When to Use Red Teaming in the Cloud
Red teaming in the cloud is recommended when:
- Security teams aim to assess real-world attacker behavior in multi-cloud ecosystems
- The goal is to evaluate lateral movement, escalation, and detection workflows
- Executives require validation of incident response readiness for cloud-native attacks
Organizations benefit from red team insights that simulate adversary chaining, including credential theft, privilege abuse, and stealthy API exploitation.
Why Both are Essential in Cloud Security Strategy
Cloud penetration testing uncovers technical weaknesses. Red teaming in the cloud validates whether those weaknesses can be used to achieve attack objectives. Both contribute different layers of insight, from surface-level hygiene to end-to-end breach simulation.
Advanced security programs incorporate both:
- Annual cloud penetration testing to maintain cloud security posture
- Red team scenarios focused on attacker emulation and detection testing
- Purple team collaboration to harden alert logic and enhance telemetry from tools like GuardDuty, CloudTrail, and Defender for Cloud
Conclusion
Security teams must align testing methods with cloud maturity. Cloud penetration testing identifies risk at the control and configuration layer. Red teaming in the cloud validates how attackers exploit those weaknesses under realistic conditions.
As cloud architecture evolves to support continous deployment and AI pipelines, the need for adversary simulation grows. Red teaming in the cloud provides the strategic evidence needed to reduce business risk and validate control effectiveness across complex cloud environments.
To learn more about red teaming at Bishop Fox, check out these resources:
- Virtual Sessions:
- Blog Posts:
- Open-Source Tools: CloudFox and CloudFoxable
