Red Team and Blue Team
Red Team and Blue Team: the difference, explained to a business owner.
The Red Team plays the attacker: with your written consent, it tries to get into your company and hands you the list of open doors. The Blue Team plays the guard: it closes those doors, checks every month and alerts you at the first signal. The first is a one-off engagement, the second a subscription. The Red Team finds, the Blue Team fixes and watches.
What is the difference between Red Team and Blue Team?
A red team attacks, a blue team defends. For a small business, the simplest picture is the burglar and the guard. Both work for you, with one goal: that nobody else gets in.
| Red Team (the test) | Blue Team (the protection) | |
|---|---|---|
| Its role | Trying to get in, like a burglar, with your written consent and without breaking anything. | Keeping your doors closed, like a guard: close, check, warn. |
| The format | A one-off engagement, at a published price. | A monthly subscription. |
| What you receive | The list of open doors. Each flaw is explained simply, ranked by severity, with its fix. | Hardened access, backups and AI tools. An alert as soon as a signal appears. A summary every month. |
| The question it answers | "How can someone get into my company today?" | "Does it stay closed over time?" |
| Published plans | External scan EUR 490, Full audit EUR 1,490, Full audit + AI EUR 3,900. | Watch EUR 99 per month, Protection EUR 290 per month, Protection + AI EUR 690 per month. |
Prices excluding tax, taken from the Ryze Cyber home page on 7 October 2026. The amounts are the same in Swiss francs. See also what drives the price of a penetration test.
Which areas does each team cover?
Ryze Cyber lists eight areas. Some are both attacked and defended, others belong to one team only.
| Area | What it covers | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Websites and applications | Forms, client areas, forgotten pages. | Both |
| Accounts and access | Passwords, two-factor authentication, rights. | Both |
| Email and phishing | The first way into a small business. | Both |
| AI assistants and agents | A poorly restricted AI tool says too much and does too much. | Both |
| Network and Wi-Fi | What can be reached once inside your walls. | Red Team |
| Backups | A backup only counts if it can be restored. | Blue Team |
| Awareness | A team that recognises a trap. | Blue Team |
| Incident response | Knowing who calls whom, before the day it happens. | Blue Team |
How do the two teams work together?
A complete engagement follows four chapters. The handover happens at the third one: the report.
- We map your entry points. Website, email, cloud, computers, AI assistants, subcontractors: everything an attacker can reach from outside.
- The Red Team attacks, within a signed framework. Each step follows the scope of the contract. It stops at the proof.
- You receive a report you can understand. A summary for management, then each flaw with its proof, its severity and its fix. This report becomes the Blue Team's work list.
- The Blue Team hardens, then keeps the level. Access, backups, updates, AI tools: each weak point is closed, then checked. Every month, it checks, alerts and tightens.
Without the Red Team, the Blue Team defends blind. Without the Blue Team, the Red Team's report ends up in a drawer and the same flaws come back. On the question of who fixes the flaws, see also scan or penetration test.
Should you start with the Red or the Blue Team?
If you do not know where you stand, start with a Red Team audit: it tells you what to fix first. If you already know your weaknesses, the Blue Team fixes them and keeps the level. And if you are still unsure, the free scan gives a first idea in ten questions, without testing anything.
How an audit runs is detailed in penetration testing for small businesses.
Is the Blue Team round-the-clock monitoring?
No, and it is better to know this before comparing offers. What Ryze Cyber publishes for the Blue Team: tracking of credential leaks, a monthly check of exposed points, an alert in case of an anomaly, then, depending on the plan, hardening of access and backups, a monthly review and team awareness. The website does not advertise a monitoring centre active day and night. If a contract or an insurer requires continuous monitoring with a guaranteed response time, ask for it in writing in the quote.
If an attack is under way, do not lose time looking for a provider: follow the first-hour checklist.
What about fake email tests on employees?
They belong to the "Email and phishing" area, covered by both teams. On the Red side, you measure: how many people click on a fake test email. On the Blue side, you bring that number down: team awareness and a reporting reflex. Like any test, it is done within a signed framework, with the agreement of management.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Red Team and Blue Team?
The Red Team attacks to find the flaws, with your written consent. The Blue Team defends: it fixes, checks every month and alerts. The first is a one-off engagement, the second a monthly subscription.
Should you start with the Red or the Blue Team?
If you do not know where you stand, start with a Red Team audit. If you already know your weaknesses, the Blue Team fixes them and keeps the level.
Does a small business need both?
Not necessarily at the same time. A one-off audit gives the list of priorities. The subscription becomes useful when nobody in-house has the time to fix and check over the long run.
How much does the Blue Team cost?
Ryze Cyber publishes three monthly plans, excluding tax: Watch at EUR 99, Protection at EUR 290 and Protection + AI at EUR 690, or the same amounts in Swiss francs (prices taken on 7 October 2026). The exact scope is confirmed in writing before the start.
Can Red Team tests disrupt my business?
The dates and the limits are agreed with you in the contract. Tests that put availability at risk are excluded by default and are only carried out on explicit request.
Red or Blue? Start by finding out where you stand.
The Ryze Cyber free scan is a 10-question questionnaire. It takes two minutes, the score appears straight away and nothing is tested on your systems.
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Last updated: 7 October 2026