Continuous Red Teaming: Moving Beyond Annual Pen-Tests

Traditional annual penetration tests provide a snapshot of security posture but can miss threats emerging between engagements. Continuous red teaming—ongoing adversary simulations—offers a dynamic approach to uncovering blind spots and building resilience.

Limitations of Point-In-Time Testing

Annual pen-tests often focus on known vulnerabilities and fixed attack chains. By the time findings are addressed, new features or configurations may expose fresh risks. Awareness of this gap helps security leaders justify investment in continuous programmes.

The Continuous Model

Rather than one-off exercises, continuous red teaming uses scoped, low-impact simulations throughout the year. These can range from phishing campaigns to API abuse attempts. Results feed into sprint backlogs, ensuring that discovered weaknesses are prioritised alongside feature development.

Integrating with DevOps

Embed red team findings into DevOps pipelines. For instance, when an API endpoint is misconfigured, automatically generate a Jira ticket for developers. Awareness sessions for Dev and SecOps should stress that security remediation is part of the regular workflow, not a separate event.

Measuring Maturity Gains

Track metrics such as “time to remediate” or “percentage of findings re-opened.” Continuous programmes often see remediation times drop from weeks to days and fewer critical repeat findings. Sharing these improvements with executives reinforces the value of the approach.