When people imagine offensive cybersecurity, they often picture a single dramatic “hack.” In reality, Red Team engagements are structured, methodical, and goal-driven exercises designed to test an organisation’s defences.
So what actually happens during one of these engagements? Let’s walk through the Red Team process—from the first reconnaissance scan to the moment of exploitation—and explore how you can start learning these skills yourself.
What Is a Red Team Engagement?
A Red Team engagement is a simulated cyberattack carried out with the permission of the target organisation. Unlike a traditional penetration test (which focuses on specific systems or applications), a Red Team exercise:
- Emulates realistic adversaries
- Tests people, processes, and technology together
- Measures how effectively the Blue Team detects and responds
The ultimate goal isn’t just “breaking in.” It’s to give defenders valuable insight into how an attacker would operate—so they can strengthen defences.
Phase 1: Reconnaissance
Every Red Team engagement starts with reconnaissance—gathering information about the target. This can include:
- Scanning IP ranges to identify live hosts
- Enumerating open ports and services
- Collecting publicly available information (OSINT)
- Mapping external attack surfaces
The goal is to build a picture of the target environment, much like a burglar might walk around a building before deciding where to enter.
👉 Practice this yourself with TryHackMe’s Red Teaming Path, which includes reconnaissance labs and adversary emulation scenarios.
Phase 2: Initial Access
Once a potential entry point is identified, the Red Team attempts to gain initial access. Common methods include:
- Exploiting a vulnerable web application
- Using stolen or weak credentials
- Phishing a user into opening a malicious attachment
At this stage, stealth matters. The goal is not to “smash the door down” but to sneak in quietly, just as a real attacker would.
Phase 3: Establishing Persistence
Gaining access is only the beginning. Next, Red Teamers set up ways to maintain their foothold, such as:
- Installing backdoors or web shells
- Creating new user accounts with elevated privileges
- Setting up scheduled tasks to re-establish access if discovered
This ensures the team can continue the engagement even if initial access points are closed.
Phase 4: Privilege Escalation & Lateral Movement
With persistence established, the focus shifts to moving deeper into the network.
- Privilege escalation: Exploiting misconfigurations or vulnerabilities to gain admin rights
- Lateral movement: Pivoting from one machine to another, expanding reach inside the network
- Credential harvesting: Dumping password hashes or tokens for reuse
These techniques mimic what real attackers do when moving toward high-value targets.
Phase 5: Exploitation & Objectives
Finally, the Red Team attempts to achieve the defined objectives of the engagement. Depending on the scenario, this might include:
- Exfiltrating sensitive data
- Simulating ransomware deployment
- Accessing critical business applications
At this point, the test evaluates not just whether the attackers could succeed—but whether the Blue Team detected and responded effectively.
Why This Matters
Red Team engagements are powerful because they show organisations how an attack would unfold in reality. They highlight gaps not just in technology, but in processes and human response.
For learners, studying these phases provides an invaluable roadmap: if you understand the attacker’s playbook, you can train to defend against it.
👉 TryHackMe’s Red Teaming Path takes you through recon, exploitation, privilege escalation, and more—step by step.
Learn the Red Team Lifecycle Hands-On
Reading about Red Team tactics is one thing. Experiencing them in a lab environment is another.
With TryHackMe, you can practice reconnaissance, exploitation, and post-exploitation techniques in safe, guided scenarios—so when you hear terms like lateral movement or persistence, you’ll know what they really mean.
