Purple Teams Explained: How to Strengthen Detection & Response with Collaboration

With advanced technology, attackers can now adapt and shift techniques to try and breach your networks, systems and applications. Defensive teams are constantly reacting to the latest incident.

For many IT Directors and CISOs, the challenge isn’t just finding the right tools, but improving collaboration between their existing offensive and defensive teams to close detection gaps and prove cyber resilience to regulators and executives.

Purple teams are changing how organisations measure, improve, and demonstrate cyber readiness. By combining the offensive insights of red teams with the defensive expertise of blue teams, comprehensive purple teams can help to identify weaknesses and improve detection in real time.

In this article, you’ll learn what a purple team is, how purple teaming works in practice, the benefits it delivers, and how to know if your organisation is ready. We’ll also show how working with a managed security partner can accelerate your maturity and make purple teaming a sustainable, measurable process that delivers lasting results.

Key Takeaways

• Purple teaming combines red and blue team expertise to continuously improve threat detection and incident response.
• Collaboration between offensive and defensive teams uncovers hidden weaknesses and strengthens SOC performance.
• Purple team exercises follow a repeatable cycle of testing, analysis, remediation, and retesting using frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK.
• The approach is especially valuable for regulated or high risk sectors needing measurable compliance and audit readiness.

What is a Purple Team in Cyber Security?

A purple team is a collaborative approach to cyber security testing and defence that brings together offensive (red team) and defensive (blue team) specialists to work in tandem. Instead of operating separately, both teams share intelligence, tools, and findings to improve detection and response capabilities.

Purple teams don’t replace red or blue teams. They act as a tiger team that creates the bridge between them, ensuring that offensive insights lead to measurable defensive improvements.

How purple teams differ from red and blue teams

Red teams simulate real world cyberattacks on your infrastructure, systems or applications to test how well your defences hold up. They think and act like attackers, using tactics such as phishing, privilege escalation, or lateral movement to uncover weaknesses.

Blue teams focus on defending the organisation. They monitor systems, respond to incidents, and improve detection rules.

The problem is that these teams often operate in silos. Red teams report findings on vulnerabilities, while the blue team detects potential breaches or malicious behaviour. Purple teams close this gap by ensuring both sides collaborate in real time.

The result is faster feedback, clearer communication, and a shared goal – stronger and more mature detection and faster response.

Why collaboration is key to threat detection

In traditional exercises, from penetration testing to red team exercises, findings are often delivered weeks later in a report. By that time, the lessons can already be outdated.

Purple teaming changes that dynamic. As the red team executes an attack scenario, the blue team monitors and responds, while the purple team observes, coordinates, and ensures insights are shared immediately.

This collaboration transforms security testing into a learning process. Defenders see how attacks unfold, tune their detection systems on the spot, and can validate improvements in real time.

The result is a culture of continuous learning where red and blue teams work together, not against each other.

How Do Purple Teams Work in Practice?

A purple team engagement is structured to deliver measurable outcomes. It combines elements of offensive simulation, defensive response, and post exercise analysis.

Typical structure and team composition

A purple team may be made up of internal staff, external partners, or a mix of both. Large organisations might have dedicated red and blue teams already in place, while others rely on external MSSPs to provide the offensive or defensive expertise and a fresh view on the current set up.

A typical purple team includes:

• Red team specialists who simulate realistic attack scenarios.
• Blue team analysts are responsible for monitoring, detecting, and responding.
• Purple team facilitators who ensure collaboration, manage communication, and oversee lessons learned.

Working with a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) allows you to access highly experienced red and blue team capabilities that can give you a fresh view, without needing to build them in-house.

Purple teaming exercises and workflows

Purple teaming exercises usually follow four main phases:

1. Plan – Define objectives, target systems, and success criteria. Exercises often align with the MITRE ATT&CK and MITRE D3FEND framework, ensuring that tactics and techniques reflect real adversary behaviour.
2. Simulate – Red teams perform controlled attack scenarios while blue teams detect, respond, and mitigate.
3. Analyse – Both teams review what worked, what didn’t, and where detection rules need tuning.
4. Remediate and Retest – Fix identified issues and re-run the same scenarios to confirm that improvements are effective.

This cycle turns every purple teaming exercise into a feedback loop, building cyber resilience and maturity with each iteration.

Integration with Security Operations Centres (SOCs)

Purple team operations enhance the performance of your Security Operations Centre (SOC) by identifying where alerts are missed, false positives occur, or detection rules need refining.

By integrating purple team operations into your SOC, you create a live testing ground for detection engineering, threat hunting, and incident response. It also helps demonstrate measurable improvements to leadership teams, which is increasingly important for compliance frameworks such as NIS2, DORA and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

Purple Team Benefits for Cyber Security

One of the biggest challenges that CISOs and IT Directors face is proving that their security investments actually work, and purple teaming delivers the data and insights they need to do just that.

Improved threat detection and response time

Purple teams accelerate your detection and response by providing direct feedback to cyber security teams during and after simulated attacks. Instead of waiting for reports, your analysts can tune detection logic, update response playbooks, and validate improvements immediately.

This reduces Mean Time To Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time To Respond (MTTR), making sure your SOC is not just reactive but continuously improving as new threats arise.

Greater alignment between offensive and defensive teams

When red and blue teams work together, both sides gain a deeper understanding of the other’s challenges. Offensive teams see how defenders react, while defenders learn how attackers think.

This shared knowledge leads to better prioritisation, clearer communication, and a stronger cyber security posture. In many organisations, purple teaming exercises have been the catalyst for transforming red and blue teams from competitors into collaborators.

Support for compliance and audit readiness

Purple teaming supports the continuous improvement of your cyber security defenses, which aligns closely with compliance requirements under newer regulations such as NIS2, and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).

By providing evidence of real world testing and response improvements, you can demonstrate your due diligence to auditors, regulators, and boards. The process produces tangible metrics, such as improved detection rates, which can be mapped directly to compliance objectives. This compliance consulting service is just one of many benefits you should expect from working with an external provider for purple teaming.

When and Why Should Organisations Use Purple Teams?

Purple teaming is useful for any organisation that has a defined and relatively mature security function and has a strategic aim to improve it. Here are some of the surefire signs that it’s time to bring purple teaming exercises into your cyber security strategy:

Triggers and readiness indicators

You should consider introducing purple teaming if your organisation experiences:

• Repeated security incidents or near-misses without clear lessons learned
• Difficulty demonstrating the effectiveness or importance of your SOC to executives or regulators
• Compliance audit findings related to detection or response capability
• Significant investment in detection tools, but limited measurable outcomes
• Breach fatigue or detection drift in your SOC

These are common triggers for mid-to-large UK organisations to start the evolution from reactive security operations to a proactive defence strategy.

Use cases in regulated or high-risk sectors

Purple teaming delivers particular value in regulated or high risk sectors such as financial services, healthcare, energy, and government supply chains.

These industries face strict reporting requirements and high reputational risk. Purple teaming provides evidence of continuous testing, helping to demonstrate operational resilience and control effectiveness under frameworks like ISO 27001.

Outsourced vs internal purple teaming

Building an internal purple team requires advanced skills across both offensive and defensive disciplines. That’s why many organisations partner with a managed provider. Not only does this provide the highest level of expertise without the burden of hiring and retaining staff in-house, but it also provides a neutral view of your infrastructure and a fresh, unbiased assessment of your cyber security posture.

It also allows your teams to learn through collaboration, transferring knowledge that strengthens your in-house capabilities long after the engagement ends.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Like any collaborative initiative, purple teaming comes with its challenges. The key is recognising them early and having a plan to overcome them should they arise.

Cultural and communication barriers

Red and blue teams have historically been set up with conflicting goals. Red teams aim to succeed in their attacks, while blue teams strive to block them. This adversarial mindset can hinder learning and pit teams against each other, missing that both teams ultimately have the same goal of improving cyber security.

To overcome it, leadership needs to set both teams shared objectives, and foster a culture where both sides see success as a collective goal, not a competition. Regular debriefs, transparent reporting, and agreed success metrics help to maintain this alignment.

Resourcing and tooling gaps

Effective purple teaming requires both advanced technologies and the right skills to use them effectively. Many organisations lack dedicated red team capabilities or have limited detection engineering expertise in-house.

Partnering with a highly accredited MSSP provides you with access to advanced tooling, skilled testers, and security analysts, who together can simulate real world attacks while guiding your cyber security teams through detection tuning and response improvement.

Measuring success: KPIs and metrics

To prove value, you need measurable outcomes. Common KPIs for purple teaming include:

• Reduction in detection blind spots
• Improved correlation between alerts and attack tactics
• Faster Mean Time To Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time To Respond (MTTR)
• Increase in the successful detection rate per exercise
• Reduction in false positives and noise in SOC alerts

Tracking these metrics over time demonstrates a clear return on investment (ROI) and helps to communicate improvements to executives and auditors.

Purple Teaming with DigitalXRAID

DigitalXRAID supports organisations to implement and mature their security programmes with red, blue and purple team services. Whether you’re starting out or refining an existing red and blue team model, our experts can help you to align strategy, execution, and measurable improvement.

Our methodology and managed approach

We begin with an initial maturity assessment to understand your existing defensive capability, toolset, and operational processes. From there, we tailor a purple teaming programme that aligns with your goals, regulatory context, and threat landscape.

Our approach typically includes:

• Scoped attack simulation aligned to MITRE ATT&CK techniques
• Collaboration between your SOC analysts and our red team testers
• Real time feedback to improve detection and alerting
• Post-exercise review and remediation planning
• Continuous improvement cycle, ensuring sustained benefits

Unlike one-off penetration tests, our managed purple teaming service provides ongoing support, helping your security function evolve with your threat landscape.

How we integrate with your existing security team

DigitalXRAID acts as an extension of your internal teams, not a replacement. We work closely with any existing SOC and IT staff to make sure that exercises are relevant, controlled, and insightful.

We share methodologies, findings, and improvements transparently, providing both executive level reporting and technical guidance. The goal is to strengthen your internal capability while delivering measurable improvements in detection and response.

What to expect from an engagement

A typical purple teaming exercise runs over several weeks and includes planning, testing, analysis, and review phases. Deliverables include:

• Executive summary with key findings and recommendations
• Technical report detailing vulnerabilities, detections, and response outcomes
• Remediation plan with prioritised actions
• SOC tuning guidance and performance metrics

The process is collaborative from start to finish. You’ll see clear progress, improved detection rates, and a stronger security posture backed by real data.

Ready to Strengthen Your Security with Purple Teaming?

Purple teaming is one of the most effective ways to bridge the gap between offensive and defensive security, improve detection, and demonstrate operational resilience.

If you’re looking to enhance your SOC’s effectiveness, meet regulatory expectations, or simply want greater assurance that your security investments are paying off, partnering with a trusted MSSP can make all the difference.

DigitalXRAID’s CREST-, NCSC- and CHECK-accredited specialists help you to identify weaknesses, improve detection accuracy, and build confidence in your defences through structured collaboration and measurable improvement.

Ready to take the next step? Speak to our cyber security experts today to discuss how we can support your purple teaming strategy.

FAQs

Is purple teaming the same as red teaming?

No, red teaming focuses purely on offensive simulation, while purple teaming is collaborative. It involves both red and blue teams working together to improve detection and response.

What’s the ROI of purple team exercises?

The return comes from measurable improvements in detection, faster incident response, and reduced breach impact. Organisations often see a reduction in false positives and faster resolution of alerts.

Can smaller organisations benefit from purple teaming?

Yes. Even without a dedicated SOC, smaller organisations can use managed purple teaming exercises to strengthen their defences and validate security investments.

How often should purple team engagements occur?

Many organisations run purple teaming exercises quarterly or bi-annually, depending on their threat exposure, compliance cycles, and SOC maturity. Continuous exercises deliver the greatest value.

Do purple teams require specific tools?

Purple teaming uses a mix of offensive simulation and detection platforms, often aligned to the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The key to a successful exercise is good integration with your existing detection and monitoring tools.

How does purple teaming support ISO 27001 or NIS2?

It provides evidence of continuous testing and improvement, which supports risk assessment, monitoring, and audit requirements under both frameworks.

What’s the difference between a one-off test and ongoing collaboration?

A one-off test gives you a snapshot in time. Purple teams run continuous and collaborative projects, helping your organisation improve resilience and detection over time.