Purple Team Exercises & Detection Engineering
Collaborative adversary simulation where Red and Blue teams work together in real time — testing detection coverage, tuning SIEM and EDR alerts, and building a measurable, MITRE ATT&CK-mapped improvement roadmap for your SOC.
Structured · Sprint · Ongoing Programme
Three delivery formats to match your security maturity, team capacity, and detection improvement goals — from a comprehensive coverage assessment to a continuous quarterly programme.
Structured Purple Team
A defined engagement covering a curated set of MITRE ATT&CK techniques mapped to your threat model. Executed technique-by-technique with your Blue Team, validating SIEM alert coverage, EDR telemetry, and analyst response for each. Ends with a comprehensive detection coverage report and improvement roadmap.
- Threat model scoping — industry-relevant TTP selection
- Technique-by-technique execution with Blue Team present
- SIEM alert validation per ATT&CK technique tested
- EDR telemetry gap identification & rule recommendations
- Detection coverage heat map (MITRE ATT&CK Navigator)
- Full detection gap report & prioritised remediation roadmap
Sprint Purple Team
A time-boxed 5-day intensive targeting a specific threat scenario — ransomware, insider threat, credential-based attack, or supply chain compromise. Ideal for organisations that want to rapidly test and improve detection for a specific threat category without committing to a full engagement.
- Single threat scenario (ransomware, credential, supply chain)
- Full kill chain execution for the target scenario
- Real-time detection validation & SIEM rule development
- EDR alert tuning & exclusion configuration review
- Analyst workflow & escalation procedure review
- Post-sprint detection improvement report
Ongoing Purple Team Programme
A scheduled, repeatable programme of quarterly purple team sprints — continuously expanding MITRE ATT&CK technique coverage, measuring detection improvement sprint-over-sprint, and maintaining SOC maturity as threat actor TTPs evolve. The most effective model for sustained detection improvement.
- Quarterly sprint schedule — new techniques each cycle
- ATT&CK coverage tracking & improvement measured over time
- SIEM rule library maintained & expanded each cycle
- Analyst skill development through hands-on technique review
- Quarterly detection maturity report & trend analysis
- Threat intelligence-driven TTP selection each sprint
Why Your SIEM and EDR Are Not as Effective as You Think
Most organisations assume their detection tooling works. They invest in SIEM platforms, EDR licenses, and alert playbooks — and assume that investment translates directly into detection capability. Purple team exercises consistently reveal that it does not. The gap between "we have detection tooling" and "our tooling actually detects the attacks we face" is where organisations lose when a real threat actor arrives.
Purple team exercises bridge that gap by systematically executing attacker techniques in a controlled environment — with your SOC analysts watching in real time. The result is not just a list of gaps but a working SIEM rule library, tuned EDR configuration, and a measurable detection coverage map tracked sprint-over-sprint as your programme matures.
SIEM Alert Validation
Testing whether your SIEM alerts on each technique — and whether those alerts are actionable
EDR Telemetry Gaps
Identifying which attacker actions produce no EDR telemetry in your specific environment
MITRE ATT&CK Coverage Map
Building a Navigator heat map of current detection coverage and gaps across the ATT&CK matrix
Analyst Skill Development
Live attacker technique exposure improves analyst recognition speed and response quality
5-Phase Purple Team Exercise Methodology
From threat model scoping and TTP selection through live detection engineering, rule development, and ATT&CK Navigator coverage reporting.
Threat Model & TTP Selection
We work with your team to identify the threat actors and scenarios most relevant to your industry and risk profile — then select the MITRE ATT&CK techniques that best represent those threats. Every technique executed during the exercise is relevant to real risks your organisation faces, not a generic catalogue run.
Environment Preparation
We review your current SIEM alert rules, EDR configuration baseline, and log source coverage before the exercise begins — identifying obvious gaps that would prevent telemetry capture. This pre-exercise review prevents wasted exercise time on infrastructure gaps that can be resolved before testing starts.
Technique Execution & Real-Time Validation
Techniques are executed one at a time with your Blue Team analysts monitoring detection dashboards in real time. For each technique we record: Was an alert generated? Was it actionable? Was the analyst response correct? We immediately write new detection rules or tune existing ones when gaps are found — during the exercise, not after.
Detection Engineering & Rule Development
For every technique that fails to generate an alert, we develop a specific SIEM detection rule, EDR behavioural rule, or network signature — tuned to your specific environment and tested live during the exercise. You leave the engagement with a working detection rule library, not just a gap list.
Coverage Report & Improvement Roadmap
You receive a MITRE ATT&CK Navigator coverage heat map showing pre- and post-exercise detection coverage, a detection rule library with all rules written during the exercise, and a prioritised improvement roadmap for the next quarter — providing a measurable baseline for your ongoing detection maturity programme.
Comprehensive Detection Engineering Coverage
From SIEM alert tuning and EDR rule development to analyst training and a delivered detection rule library — every aspect of your detection capability, systematically improved.
MITRE ATT&CK Technique Coverage
Systematic execution of curated ATT&CK techniques mapped to your threat model — producing a Navigator heat map showing exactly which techniques you can and cannot detect, with measurable before-and-after coverage improvement.
SIEM Alert Validation & Tuning
Testing whether your SIEM generates alerts for each executed technique — then writing, testing, and deploying specific detection rules in real time during the exercise for every gap identified, in the SIEM query language you actually use.
EDR Telemetry & Behavioural Rules
Identifying which attacker actions produce insufficient EDR telemetry in your specific environment — and developing EDR behavioural detection rules tuned to your endpoint configuration and your organisation's normal baseline.
Threat Scenario Simulation
Full kill chain execution for specific threat scenarios — ransomware (from initial access through encryption), credential-based attacks, supply chain compromise, and insider threat — with detection validation at every stage of the chain.
Analyst Training & Knowledge Transfer
Hands-on exposure to live attacker technique execution significantly improves analyst recognition speed and response quality — with structured Q&A during each technique so analysts understand what they are seeing in telemetry and why.
Detection Rule Library Delivery
Every rule written during the exercise — SIEM Sigma rules, EDR behavioural detections, and network signatures — documented, tested, and delivered as a working library in a format compatible with your specific detection tooling.
Detection Improvement That Outlasts the Exercise
Purple team should leave your SOC measurably better than it was before the exercise started — with working rules, a coverage map, and a roadmap to continue improving.
Rules During, Not After
We write and test detection rules during the exercise — not as a post-engagement to-do list. Your SOC has working, tested detection rules deployed before our team leaves the session.
ATT&CK Navigator Output
Every engagement produces a MITRE ATT&CK Navigator coverage heat map — a visual, shareable artefact showing your board exactly where your detection capability stands and where it needs to improve.
Threat-Model Driven
We do not run a generic ATT&CK catalogue. TTP selection is driven by your specific threat model — the actual threat actors and scenarios relevant to your industry and risk profile.
Repeatable Programme
Purple team is not a one-time exercise. We design each engagement as a sprint in an ongoing maturity programme, with coverage tracked and systematically expanded each quarter.
Tooling & Frameworks We Use
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about purple team exercises
Ready to Measurably Improve Your Detection Coverage?
Purple team is the fastest way to turn your SIEM and EDR investment into actual detection capability. Schedule a scoping call with our team to define your threat model, select a starting exercise format, and build your detection maturity roadmap.
Get in Touch
Ready to secure your future? Reach out to us for a consultation.