Week 1: One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team

Maleea m -

Brute force, backdoors, sneaky attacks,
Red Team is hunting for critical cracks.
Blue Team defends, firewalls tight,
Mending and tending to end the fight

Red Team vs Blue Team Cyber Security

 

In my previous post, I introduced you to the concept of “ethical hacking”—two words that might seem like complete opposites. Ethical hacking is the authorized use of hacking techniques to identify security vulnerabilities in a system.

Think of cybersecurity as a constant war between attackers and defenders. Just like in traditional battles, both sides must train, strategize, and adapt. In this digital battlefield, we have two key players:

  • Red Team – The attackers (but the good kind)
  • Blue Team – The defenders (keeping systems secure)

These teams simulate real-world cyber threats, working against each other to strengthen security.

Most large companies have red and blue teams working every day, the battle is happening all around you all the time. By having Red Teams attack and Blue Teams defend, organizations can find and fix weaknesses before real hackers do. This ongoing battle keeps security strong and helps protect sensitive information from cyber threats.

For my senior project, I’ll be applying Red and Blue Team tactics (Purple Team) by ethically hacking various IoT devices to uncover security gaps and then patching them. This hands-on experience will allow me to explore both sides of cybersecurity—learning how attackers break in and how defenders keep them out.

 

Project Update:

I’m currently in the reconnaissance stage—the initial phase of a cyber attack where information is gathered about a target system or network before launching an attack. This step is crucial in both offensive and defensive cybersecurity, as understanding potential vulnerabilities is key to securing a system.

Right now, I’m building my knowledge base by:

  • Watching YouTube tutorials on network architecture and security fundamentals.
  • Completing Cyber Security 101 on TryHackMe to explore attack techniques, defense strategies, and reconnaissance methods.

“Fun” Frightening Fact of The Week:

A cyberattack occurs every 39 seconds leading to 4 million files stolen every day.

Consider my timbers shivered.

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Comments:

All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.

    riley_b
    Yikes on the 39 seconds and 4 million files. Though I know it's definitely more complicated, this sounds almost like a fun strategy game.
      Maleea_M
      Probably fun for the hackers but not so fun for the people whose data gets stolen. That's why ethical hacking is such a cool concept: the thrill of the chase without hurting anyone!
    samantha_g
    The red team and blue team sound like they are the dream team in cyber security! Also all the pictures are a nice touch. Can you give some information on the attack techniques, defense strategies, and reconnaissance methods that you have learned on TryHackMe? Great website name by the way. Thanks!
    mason_t
    I never knew about red team and blue team, but it makes a lot of sense considering the amount of data companies are storing online. What kinds of software will you be using for this project, especially for the part with ethical hacking of IoT devices? Thanks!
      Maleea_M
      For most of the project, I will be using Kali Linux (used for penetration testing) on a virtual machine. A virtual machine is the software that makes up a computer without the parts. You can download it onto an existing computer to have a separate operating system that won't affect the physical computer.
    mae_b
    This is cool, Maleea! Are you able to share what kind of system you are trying to hack into - are you trying to ethically hack user data from a company, or hack into a home page to be able to edit it, or...?
      Maleea_M
      Hey Mae, one system I worked on was a FAKE bank website where I had to run a program that looks for hidden pages like the admin log-in page. I then had to brute force the password to access a transfer page and send fake money to an account.
    eugene_j
    Directly differenciating each group's roles is very helpful. How exactly will the hackers infiltrate the system: known weaknesses, human error from the defence, brute force?
      Maleea_M
      The red team's responsibility is to think like the black hat hackers (malicious/nonethical hackers), so they employ all skills possible to try to access a system, including all the ones you mentioned.

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