""Offensive security is about proactively simulating attacker behavior to prioritize attack surface strengthening. It includes, but extends beyond, traditional penetration testing into red teaming and bug bounty programs, providing continuous, intelligence-led validation of how attackers actually operate. It combines human ingenuity, automation, and adversarial simulation to expose weaknesses before they are exploited," expands Julian Brownlow Davies, Senior VP of offensive security & strategy at Bugcrowd."
""Offensive security is simply a branch of security that focuses on attacking systems to identify weakness in order to harden them/defend them better," says Matt Mullins, head hacker at Reveal Security. Eyal Benishti, CEO and founder at IRONSCALES calls it 'proactive defense'. Pentesting and red teaming are the two primary components of offensive security. Their methods of operation overlap, but they serve two separate purposes. Pentesting seeks to find and exploit bugs or weaknesses. Red teaming seeks to test a system's ability to withstand an actual attack."
Malicious attacks are increasing in frequency, sophistication, and damage, requiring defenders to find and harden system weaknesses before attackers exploit them. Offensive security focuses on attacking systems to identify weaknesses and strengthen defenses, combining human ingenuity, automation, and adversarial simulation. Pentesting provides snapshot bug discovery, often for compliance, while red teaming conducts persistent, scenario-based simulations to test detection, response, and resilience. Organizations with higher security maturity are shifting toward continuous, intelligence-led red teaming, bug bounty programs, and proactive validation of how attackers actually operate to prioritize attack surface strengthening.
Read at SecurityWeek
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