READ TEAM DEMAND IS RISING — HERE'S WHY

Bishop Fox has seen red teaming interest double and even triple across delivery and marketing metrics. This reflects a broader shift across industries. Organizations are no longer satisfied with compliance checkboxes; they are seeking ground truth about their readiness to defend against realistic threats.

CISOs and executive leadership now ask targeted questions:

• Could ransomware successfully bypass existing defenses?
• Are critical assets being adequately protected?
• Which security tools and processes deliver meaningful impact?

Red teaming provides the answers by emulating adversaries and showing what happens when real attack paths are followed through the environment.

Red team demand has grown as a direct response to high-profile security incidents:

• Ransomware attacks on energy, manufacturing, and education sectors
• Software supply chain breaches compromising enterprise software providers
• Exploits targeting known vulnerabilities (such as Log4Shell, EternalBlue, and Heartbleed)

These incidents have raised awareness among business leaders and boards. Red teaming helps prioritize defenses against real-world adversaries that are both active and well-funded.

Organizations face budget restrictions amid economic uncertainty. Many have accumulated 20, 30, or even 50 security tools, leading to alert fatigue and operational inefficiency. Executives want validation that existing investments are working, and insights to identify redundant or underperforming controls.

Red team operations cut through complexity by testing whether security tools and playbooks can stop real adversaries. Rather than relying on metrics like patching coverage or phishing simulation success, red teaming simulates the actual attack and measures whether it succeeds or fails.

Red teaming supports executive decision-making by:

• Revealing gaps in people, process, and technology defenses
• Providing an attack narrative tied to real-world tactics
• Highlighting which controls worked vs. failed, and where to focus next

CISOs use red team outcomes to brief boards and justify strategic shifts. Findings show how real attacks would unfold in a specific environment, producing clearer value than dashboards or compliance reports.

Red teaming informs resource allocation by identifying:

• Which tools truly provide protection
• Where redundant solutions can be consolidated
• Which detection and response playbooks are effective

This enables security leaders to focus budget and personnel on initiatives that reduce risk with proven effectiveness. For finance stakeholders, red teaming offers measurable ROI by confirming which investments are performing and which are not.

There are more than 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions globally. Red team talent is particularly scarce due to the advanced skill sets required. Organizations increasingly turn to trusted third-party providers to deliver red team operations without the overhead of building internal programs.

Strategic partnerships offer long-term value. Rather than one-off tests, ongoing red team relationships deliver scenario-driven engagements mapped to evolving business priorities and threat landscapes. This continuous approach builds institutional knowledge and operational efficiency.

Traditional security strategies often begin with tools and work backward to the threat. Red teaming enables a top-down approach:

• Identify business-critical assets and crown jewels
• Understand the threats most likely to target them
• Emulate those threats and observe control performance

This strategic alignment produces insights that drive better decisions at every level of the organization, from SOC analysts to C-suite executives.