Red teaming and adversary simulation for high-stakes environments
Adversary simulation shows how a real attacker would move through your environment, and whether your people and controls detect and respond. Baidam delivers red teaming as an intelligence-led program mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, with findings that feed your defences, not a report.
Adversary simulation: Replicating real-world threats under controlled conditions
Adversary simulation is the authorised replication of real threat actor behaviour, using the same tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that known adversary groups apply against organisations in your sector and against your environment, under controlled conditions.
It tests the full kill chain, not individual controls covering initial access, persistence, lateral movement, privilege escalation, and objective achievement against the full operational environment. The test answers the question: what could a real attacker accomplish, and would we know?
In comparison, a penetration test only identifies exploitable vulnerabilities within a defined scope, such as an application, a network segment, or an Active Directory environment.
Baidam’s adversary simulation exercises are mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, which is the industry-standard taxonomy of adversary behaviour. ATT&CK mapping ensures that TTPs are drawn from documented, real-world adversary activity, the coverage is structured and reproducible, and findings connect directly to the specific techniques your defensive controls need to detect and respond to.
Adversary simulation services based on intelligent methodology
Baidam offers three service types, each addressing a different assurance question and supported by the same intelligence-led methodology.
Red Team (attack)
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Red team testing is a covert, full-scope attack simulation against your people, processes, and technology, conducted without warning. The red team operates as a real adversary by using open-source intelligence, phishing, physical access attempts, and technical exploitation to achieve defined objectives.
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A red team exercise doesn't just test your controls. It tests your detection and response capability - whether your SOC identifies the activity, how quickly analysts triage it, and whether containment happens before the objective is reached. The findings reveal not just what was exploitable, but what went undetected and for how long.
Purple team (collaborative attack/defence)
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Baidam's offensive team and your defensive team work together, in real time, to identify detection gaps, tune alerting, and validate response procedures as attack techniques are executed.
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A purple team exercise is particularly effective when an organisation wants to accelerate defensive maturity without the full deployment of a covert red team. Techniques are executed with the blue team's knowledge, detection coverage is assessed immediately, and playbooks are refined based on what the exercise surfaces.
Adversary emulation (specific threat actor TTPs)
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We execute a structured simulation of a specific, not generic, threat actor using their documented TTPs, tooling preferences, and known targeting patterns against your environment.
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Adversary emulation is grounded in current threat intelligence. The TTPs selected are drawn from reports of actual attacks against organisations in your sector, geography, or technology stack.
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If your organisation operates in a sector that’s actively targeted by a specific adversary group, replicating that group's TTPs produces findings that are immediately actionable for your defensive programme.
Baidam’s service types form a continuum, from covert attack simulation through to collaborative detection improvement and intelligence-led threat emulation.
We can deliver engagements in sequence or scope independently based on your current assurance requirements.
Structured adversary simulation methodology, delivered across five phases
Every adversary simulation engagement follows a structured methodology delivered across five phases, ensuring a rigorous simulation, not an unstructured attack exercise. All artefacts, access, and implants are removed upon completion.
Baidam’s five phases are:
Scoping and rules of engagement
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We define objectives, success criteria, authorisation boundaries, and out-of-scope systems in writing before any activity begins. For red teaming, we establish emergency stop procedures and dedicated escalation contacts. The scope is agreed upon by both parties and documented. An adversary simulation without clearly defined boundaries is not a controlled engagement.
Threat intelligence
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We select the threat actor profile and TTPs relevant to your sector, geography, and technology environment, drawing from current threat intelligence reporting and the MITRE ATT&CK knowledge base. TTPs are drawn from current threat intelligence reporting relevant to your sector, geography, and technology environment, so the exercise reflects documented adversary behaviour rather than generic scenarios.
Execution
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We conduct attack phases across the full kill chain: initial access (phishing, external exploitation, physical access), persistence, lateral movement, privilege escalation, and objective achievement. All activities are documented with timestamped evidence. Validated techniques are exploited under controlled conditions, without disrupting production systems. We remove all test artefacts, implants, and temporary accounts upon completion.
Debrief
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We organise a structured findings session with your attack and defence teams by walking through the attack timeline, what was detected, what was missed, and how long each phase went uncontested. The debrief is where the assurance value of the exercise is realised. Findings are presented with the full evidence chain, so your team can understand exactly what happened and why.
Uplift recommendations
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We deliver prioritised remediation and defensive improvement recommendations - covering detection rule development, alerting configuration, playbook gaps, and control weaknesses. Recommendations are mapped to MITRE ATT&CK techniques, so your defensive team knows exactly which adversary behaviour each improvement is designed to detect and respond to.
The compliance documentation produced by a Baidam incident response engagement isn’t a summary written after the fact. We produce a structured record of actions taken, decisions made and every system affected, as a direct output of the engagement itself.
Adversary simulation aligned to Australian compliance and security frameworks
Adversary simulation is increasingly expected within government and regulated enterprise security programmes. Baidam’s services map to each framework and are structured to produce documented evidence relevant to board, audit and IRAP assessment requirements.
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Essential Eight
Essential Eight maturity assessments identify control gaps. Baidam’s adversary simulation service validates whether the mitigations in place at your claimed maturity level hold under sustained attack. It’s the difference between asserted maturity and demonstrated maturity
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PSPF
For government entities assessing protective security capability, adversary simulation provides structured evidence of how your organisation responds to both insider and external threat actor behaviour - supporting PSPF security risk assessment and organisational security obligations.
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ISM
ASD's ISM mandates testing of security controls for high-impact government systems. Adversary simulation provides the structured, evidence-based testing that satisfies this requirement - going beyond configuration review to validate whether controls hold under realistic attack conditions.
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Mitre Att&ck
All Baidam adversary simulation exercises map TTPs to the ATT&CK matrix - ensuring exercises are structured around documented adversary behaviour, coverage is reproducible across engagements, and findings connect directly to the specific techniques your defensive controls need to address.
Why choose Baidam for adversary simulation in government and enterprise
Adversary simulation requires careful scoping, intelligence-led methodology, and practitioners who understand how to operate within the constraints of regulated environments without disrupting production systems.
What makes us different:
Intelligence-led methodology:
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TTPs are selected from current threat intelligence, not synthetic scenarios. Exercises reflect what adversaries targeting your sector are actually doing, so findings are directly relevant to your real threat profile.
Sovereign Australian delivery
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All engagements are conducted by Australian-based practitioners. Sensitive findings, attack artefacts, and engagement records stay onshore, ideal for government agencies and organisations handling classified or sensitive data.
Approved ICT supplier:
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Baidam holds the TMRICTSOA25180 whole-of-government ICT sourcing panel appointment. Engaging us for red or purple team exercises fits within your existing government procurement structures, so no exception processes are required.
Integrated programme:
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Findings connect directly to vulnerability management, Essential Eight uplift, and IRAP readiness, so simulation outputs feed into your broader security programme rather than sitting in a report.
Indigenous-owned, profit-for-purpose:
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Baidam an Indigenous-owned cybersecurity firm. We are Supply Nation Certified and have funded five scholarships alongside 25 SANS Institute and Offensive Security certifications for First Nations practitioners, and contributed over $3.2M in social and economic value to Indigenous communities. Your engagement contributes to our mission.
For government and regulated environments needing quality assurance, we bring both the credentials and the capabilities you need to see in your penetration testing provider.
Talk with an adversary simulation specialist
Adversary simulation engagements require careful scoping, including the right service type, the right threat actor profile, and the right authorisation boundaries.
Talk to our team about your objectives, environment, and current defensive posture so we can build the right engagement structure for your requirements.
Baidam is accessible via the TMRICTSOA25180 whole-of-government ICT sourcing panel. Contact us to discuss procurement pathway options.
Adversary Simulation FAQs
We answer common questions clients ask about red team testing, purple team engagements and adversary emulation below:
A penetration test identifies exploitable vulnerabilities within a defined technical scope: an application, a network segment, or an Active Directory environment. The goal is to find what can be compromised.
A red team exercise simulates a full adversary campaign against your people, processes, and technology, with specific objectives, such as accessing a critical system or exfiltrating sensitive data. The red team operates covertly, using realistic TTPs drawn from current threat intelligence. The exercise tests not just whether vulnerabilities exist, but whether your detection and response capability would identify and contain a real attacker before the objective is reached.
The two are complementary, not interchangeable. Penetration testing informs your vulnerability posture. Red team testing validates your operational security posture under realistic attack conditions at a point in time.A purple team exercise is a collaborative engagement where Baidam's offensive team and your defensive team work together with shared visibility to execute attack techniques, assess detection coverage, and refine response procedures in real time.
Purple team is appropriate when your organisation wants to accelerate defensive maturity without deploying a fully covert red team. It’s particularly effective for validating detection engineering, improving SIEM rule coverage, and building response playbooks against specific MITRE ATT&CK techniques, without waiting for a post-engagement debrief to learn what was and wasn't detected.
TTP selection for adversary emulation is based on current threat intelligence, specifically, documented reporting of threat actor activity targeting organisations in your sector, geography, or technology environment.
Baidam draws from publicly available threat intelligence sources, vendor reporting, and the MITRE ATT&CK knowledge base to build a TTP profile that reflects the adversary groups most likely to target your organisation.
This is discussed and agreed upon during the scoping phase before execution begins. The TTP profile is documented, and the exercise is structured around those specific techniques so that findings are directly relevant to your actual threat landscape.
Timeframes vary significantly based on the service type, scope, and objectives. Adversary emulation exercises are scoped based on the breadth of TTPs being exercised.
Baidam provides a scoping estimate during the pre-engagement process based on your objectives, environment size, and authorisation requirements. Timeframes are agreed upon before work begins.
Yes. Baidam holds the TMRICTSOA25180 whole-of-government ICT sourcing panel appointment and is represented across state and federal procurement frameworks, including the Federal DTA Marketplaces. Government agencies can engage Baidam for adversary simulation through existing procurement panel arrangements.
Australian-based practitioners conduct all engagements with government agencies. Sensitive findings, attack artefacts, and engagement records stay onshore and are handled in accordance with Baidam's ISO 27001-certified information security management system.
Contact us to discuss procurement pathway options specific to your agency or jurisdiction.