HDWSec
HDW Sec Red Team engagement illustration

Red Team

An unrestricted attack simulation, as close to reality as it gets.

Red Team engagements give our experts complete freedom of action to compromise all or part of your infrastructure. The objective: replicate the behaviour of a real attacker and measure your detection and response capabilities.

Red Team vs Pentest

What's different

Unlike a standard penetration test with a fixed scope, a Red Team engagement is open-ended: our experts combine all available techniques to achieve a defined objective — just like a real attacker.

Open scope

No attack surface restrictions. Any realistic vector is in play: web, network, physical, social engineering.

Impact-driven objective

The engagement targets a concrete outcome: access to sensitive data, compromise of a critical system, or full domain takeover.

Detection & response testing

Your Blue Team and SOC are tested under real conditions, without prior warning.

Example scenario

From a web flaw to full domain compromise

This scenario illustrates a realistic attack chain carried out during a Red Team engagement. Each step builds on the previous to advance toward the final objective.

1
Initial access

Exploitation of a vulnerability on a web server (e.g. WordPress plugin)

2
Network pivot

Setting up a relay from the compromised server to the internal network

3
Internal reconnaissance

Internal network mapping, identification of priority targets

4
Lateral movement

Exploitation of an internal vulnerability (e.g. EternalBlue) on a server

5
Privilege escalation

Access token theft and escalation to administrator rights

6
Active Directory compromise

Domain takeover and credentials database extraction

7
Exfiltration

Retrieval of the client's confidential data

Terms of engagement

Red Team engagement

Duration and scope defined jointly. Stealthy approach, without alerting internal teams in advance.

Detailed report

Attack timeline, exploited vulnerabilities, evidence and countermeasures to adopt.

Client debrief

Full debrief with your technical and executive teams to build the remediation plan.

Training (optional)

Awareness and training for teams on the cyber threats observed during the engagement.

Test your resilience under real conditions.

Our Red Team experts define engagement objectives and rules of engagement with you.