In today's rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, defending against potential attackers is becoming more complex. Organisations are continuously at risk from sophisticated threat actors, making traditional security assessments like vulnerability scans or penetration tests insufficient on their own. This is where adversary emulation comes into play. Adversary emulation - an advanced security testing method that simulates real-world attacks to help organisations evaluate their defences and improve their incident response process.
This is part 1 of our series on adversary emulations and its challenges.
But what exactly is adversary emulation, and why should your organisation consider getting it done? Let’s dive deeper.
What is Adversary Emulation?
Adversary emulation is a security technique where a team of cybersecurity professionals mimics the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of real-world threat actors. This process allows organisations to see how their existing defences stand up to actual attack scenarios, based on the behaviours and capabilities of adversaries that could target them.
Unlike traditional penetration testing, which identifies vulnerabilities or weak points in a network, adversary emulation focuses on replicating the entire lifecycle of an attack. The goal is to assess how well the organisation’s security infrastructure, monitoring tools, and incident response teams can detect, respond to, and mitigate such an attack.
To make adversary emulation even more effective, threat modelling is incorporated into the process. Think of threat modelling as a way to take a closer look at the specific challenges your organisation might face. It involves identifying, assessing, and prioritising potential threats that could impact your business. Gaining a deeper understanding of these unique threats ensures the simulated attack reflects the actual risk that matters most to your organisation.
Adversary emulation often uses the MITRE ATT&CK framework, which is like a playbook of real-world cyber attack tactics. By following this guide, the simulation is customised to fit your organisation’s specific industry, potential threats, and likely attackers, making the test more relevant and useful for strengthening your defences.
Key Benefits of Adversary Emulation
- Testing Realistic Threats
Adversary emulation is meant to mimic real-world attacks. By simulating the same techniques used by hackers, it gives you a realistic view of how well your security measures hold up against the types of threats you’re likely to encounter. This helps you clearly see if your organisation can spot, respond to, and bounce back from advanced attacks. - Improving Incident Response Process
Adversary Emulation is also about how well you respond when they happen. It lets organisations practise handling attacks in a high-pressure environment. By going through a simulated attack, you can spot areas where your team’s response might be too slow, communication might break down, or coordination might fall short; things that are critical when facing a real threat. - Enhanced Security Posture
Adversary emulation goes beyond just finding individual weaknesses. It takes a big-picture view of your organisation’s overall security. By simulating full attack scenarios from start to finish, it helps you spot any gaps in your defences and shows you where to focus your efforts to strengthen security at every step of an attack. It also tests your users’ awareness of various social engineering attacks, ensuring your team knows how to recognise and handle threats like phishing or impersonation. - Continuous Improvement
Adversary emulation is not a one-time exercise. It can be repeated periodically to assess the effectiveness of new security measures, tools, or processes that your organisation has implemented. As threat actors evolve, so should your defences. Regular adversary emulation engagements ensure that you stay a step ahead of the latest threats. - Building Stakeholder Confidence
Knowing that your security posture has been tested against realistic threats helps build confidence among internal and external stakeholders, including executives, board members, and clients. It demonstrates a proactive approach to cybersecurity and compliance with industry standards.
Why Should You Get Adversary Emulation Done?
- Focus on the Threats That Matter to You
Not every business faces the same cyber threats. For example, if you run a bank, you’re more likely to be targeted by well-funded, state-sponsored hackers looking for sensitive financial data. But if you run an online store, you might be facing attacks from cybercriminals who want to steal credit card information or customer details. Adversary emulation tailors the attack simulation to fit your specific risks. So instead of testing for random vulnerabilities, you’ll see how your defences stand up against the actual threats most relevant to your industry. - See the Bigger Picture
Think of a regular penetration test like checking if your front door is locked. It's essential, but that’s not the whole story. Adversary emulation, on the other hand, is like testing if someone can get in through a window, move through your house unnoticed, and take what they want. It goes beyond just identifying weak points. For example, if your system has unpatched software, adversary emulation shows how attackers could exploit that flaw, move laterally through your network, and cause more damage. This helps you see the bigger picture and fix those weaknesses before they become a real problem. - Stay Ahead of the Game
Cybercriminals and hackers are always evolving their tactics, just like businesses are always updating their defences. For example, you might install a new firewall or update your antivirus, but attackers are already working on ways to get around those defences. Adversary emulation lets you test your system against the latest tricks hackers are using whether it's phishing emails or exploiting weak remote access protocols so you can stay one step ahead and prevent a breach before it happens. - Meet Regulatory Requirements with Confidence
Many industries have strict regulations that require companies to regularly assess their security. For example, if you’re in finance or healthcare, you might have to comply with rules like NIST or PCI DSS, which demand ongoing security testing. Adversary emulation helps you meet those requirements by proving that you’ve gone beyond basic tests. You’re simulating real-world attacks to show you’re serious about protecting sensitive data, whether it’s patient information or customer credit card details. - Make the Most of Your Security Tools
Sometimes, companies have all the right security tools in place firewalls, intrusion detection systems, antivirus software but they aren’t set up or tuned to catch advanced threats. For instance, you might have a powerful monitoring tool that’s great at detecting malwares, but it might miss more sophisticated attacks like in memory execution, ransomware or lateral movement. Adversary emulation tests how well your tools handle these advanced scenarios. That way, you can tweak and optimise them to catch real-world threats, ensuring you’re getting the full value out of your security investments.
Adversary emulation is a key part of any modern cybersecurity plan. By mimicking real-world attacks, it gives you a realistic look at how well your organisation can handle advanced threats. It helps you spot weak points and improve how your team responds in a crisis, giving you the tools you need to strengthen your defences.
Whether you run a large company or a small business, adversary emulation helps you stay proactive about cyber threats, so you're not just reacting when something goes wrong; you’re staying ahead of the game!