Red team and objective-based attack simulation

A red team exercise gives testers a goal instead of a target list: reach the customer database, the payment system or the source code, by any agreed route. It measures two things a penetration test does not: whether the attack chain works end to end, and whether your people and tools notice it. ITovio runs these under strict rules of engagement, mapped to MITRE ATT&CK.

Enterprise only. Cyber security is the one service ITovio offers at enterprise level: established companies and enterprises with production systems worth attacking properly. We do not sell low-budget scans or small-business security packages.

Who this is for
  • Enterprises with a security team or managed detection service to test.
  • Organisations that have done penetration tests and want to know if the pieces add up.
  • Boards asking whether a determined attacker could reach the crown jewels.
  • Security leaders who need evidence to prioritise detection and response spending.
What we promise

Definitive results, not maybes

Proven, not suspected

Every finding in the report is exploited by hand and shipped with a working proof of concept, reproduction steps and evidence. No unverified scanner output, no "potential" issues padding the page count.

Ranked by business impact

Severity is scored with CVSS and then argued in plain language: what an attacker reaches, which data, which customers, what it would cost you.

Closed means closed

After you fix, we attack the same issue again. The retest report states, per finding, whether it is closed, partly closed or still open.

A clean result is still a result

If a target holds, the report says exactly what was attacked, how and for how long, so "nothing exploitable found" is evidence you can hand to a customer, auditor or board.

How an exercise runs

  1. Objectives and rulesGoals, allowed techniques, out-of-bounds systems, a small control group who knows, and a deconfliction contact.
  2. ReconnaissanceYour attack surface, people and technology, mapped from public sources.
  3. Initial accessThrough an agreed route: an exposed weakness, a provided foothold, or social engineering if separately authorised.
  4. Escalation and movementIdentity, cloud and network paths towards the objective, quietly, the way a real intruder would.
  5. ObjectiveReached and proven safely, or the point where defences stopped us documented.
  6. Purple team replayWith your defenders, we replay the chain step by step to see what was logged, what alerted and what should have.

What you get that a pen test does not give

A timeline of the attack next to a timeline of what your monitoring saw. Each step mapped to a MITRE ATT&CK technique, with the detection that fired, the one that should have, and the log source that was missing.

That turns "we have a detection tool" into a measured answer: which attacker behaviours you catch today, and which you would only find in the incident report.

Questions

Asked before most engagements

Is a red team exercise right for us?
Only if you have a basic security programme and someone watching for alerts. If you have never had a penetration test, start with one; a red team will mostly confirm what a test would have found faster.
Do you run TIBER-EU or DORA threat-led tests?
Formal threat-led penetration tests under TIBER-EU or DORA have specific accreditation and threat-intelligence requirements set by the regulator. If you are in scope for one, we will say so honestly and help you prepare, rather than present our exercise as one.
How long does it take?
Usually several weeks of elapsed time, because quiet attacks move slowly. The rules of engagement fix the window and the objectives.
Who knows it is happening?
A small control group on your side, named in writing, who can stop the exercise at any time.

Reviewed by the ITovio security team on 3 November 2026.

Find out what an attacker would find first.

A 30-minute scoping call, then a written scope with targets, depth, windows and deliverables before you commit. Enterprise engagements only.

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