X-Force Red offensive security services

Security testing built to match how modern adversaries operate

Two colleagues working on laptops in the office
Overview

Attacker mindset, at AI speed

X-Force® Red pairs elite hackers with AI-augmented tooling to uncover vulnerabilities and simulate real-world attacks. Our services deliver expert-led testing for depth, continuous and autonomous testing for breadth and adversary simulation for readiness. We provide actionable insight into risk, helping teams prioritize remediation with confidence.

67%
of executives say that AI-enabled attackers targeted their organization in the past year. This finding directly supports the need to test defenses against evolving, AI-powered attack techniques.
61%
of C-suite leaders say their organization’s AI models, assets or data have been compromised. This data point can support broader offensive testing across AI applications, models, data and connected infrastructure.
Person with futuristic glasses at night
Use cases

Validate security against real threats

Security for AI

Generative AI and large language model (LLM) applications introduce vulnerabilities that traditional testing wasn’t designed to identify. Adversarial testing assesses AI systems for prompt injection, model manipulation and data exposure risks before and after deployment. Our AI red teaming practice helps organizations validate AI security, reduce risk and build trust.

AI for security

As adversaries adopt AI to accelerate attacks, traditional testing struggles to keep pace. Organizations need security testing that matches the speed of modern threats. We deploy frontier AI with expert oversight to deliver faster, deeper security validation, giving you clearer visibility into vulnerabilities and exposures before attackers find them.

Compliance and threat-led penetration testing

Regulatory frameworks require organizations to validate security through offensive testing. Our services support PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, FedRAMP, DORA and TIBER-EU with threat-informed testing that satisfies compliance obligations while uncovering real security gaps. We provide auditor-ready documentation and actionable findings.

Breach readiness

Real-world attack simulations assess how security controls perform under realistic conditions, testing detection, containment and response capabilities across the attack lifecycle. Organizations gain clear visibility into critical gaps, prioritize remediation based on observed defensive performance and strengthen defenses against modern threats.

Threat actor emulation

Real-world attack simulations validate how security controls perform under realistic conditions, testing detection, containment and response capabilities across the attack lifecycle. Organizations gain clear visibility into critical gaps, prioritize remediation based on actual defensive performance and strengthen defenses against modern threats.

Penetration testing

Expert-led penetration testing augmented by AI to uncover vulnerabilities across applications, networks, cloud environments, hardware and AI systems. Our practitioners validate findings, chain weaknesses together and apply real-world attacker techniques to identify exploitable vulnerabilities, business logic flaws and attack paths that matter most.

Social engineering

Testing your human attack surface through phishing, vishing and physical social engineering exercises. We simulate the manipulation techniques real adversaries rely on to bypass technical controls and exploit trust, helping organizations better understand and reduce human-related security risk.

How we deliver

IT professionals working in modern server room

Modern adversaries move fast, continuously exploit vulnerabilities and don't wait for your next security assessment. X-Force Red delivers offensive security through three complementary service lines designed to help organizations identify vulnerabilities, maintain continuous coverage and validate resilience against real-world threats.

Technician in data center with tablet

For on-demand, continuous coverage. AI-driven testing powered by IBM's proprietary tooling and advanced scanners provides continuous coverage across applications and networks. X-Force Red experts review and validate findings, combining machine-scale assessment with human expertise to reduce noise and focus attention on the vulnerabilities that matter most. This capability enables organizations to continuously validate their security posture as environments change and new risks emerge.

Vector illustration featuring a central shield icon atop server structures, surrounded by geometric shapes and elements symbolizing cybersecurity

AI speed with human control and judgment. X-Force Red experts leverage AI-augmented tooling to accelerate offensive security testing while maintaining the human judgment, creativity and business context needed to identify what matters most.

Through expert-led penetration testing across applications, networks, cloud environments, hardware and AI systems, we uncover exploitable vulnerabilities, attack paths and business logic flaws. These assessments provide the depth, validation and real-world attacker insight organizations need to understand their true security exposure.

Team analyzing data in tech workspace

For validating detection and response at scale. Emulation of threat actors and attack campaigns designed to test your organization's ability to detect, contain and respond to sophisticated threats. We simulate breach scenarios ranging from advanced adversary tactics to social engineering campaigns to stress-test your defenses end-to-end and identify resilience gaps before attackers can exploit them.

Red portal

Red Portal is X-Force Red's unified platform for managing offensive security testing, findings and remediation in one place. Whether you're running expert-led penetration tests or continuous autonomous testing, Red Portal provides a single source of truth for visibility, prioritization and action. Integrations with your existing security and ticketing tools help streamline remediation workflows, giving teams a clearer view of risk from discovery through validation.

Hands typing on laptop with digital cloud

View availability and schedule expert-led penetration tests, launch autonomous tests for continuous validation or adversary simulation engagements directly from the portal. No back-and-forth, no procurement delays.

Woman working on computer in modern office

RedPortal connects to the vulnerability management and ticketing systems you already use. Findings automatically flow into your existing workflow, creating tickets, routing to owners and tracking fixes to closure.

Scientist analyzing data on computer in laboratory

Every vulnerability discovered, whether from expert-led testing or autonomous testing, lands in a single, unified dashboard. Triage, prioritize and track remediation without jumping between tools.

Digital file management interface above open hand

From discovery to remediation, Red Portal gives you end-to-end visibility. See what's been found, what's being fixed, and what's been validated, so coverage and remediation stay in lockstep.

Business analysis with financial graphs on screen

Meet the experts

Alastair Gray
Alastair Gray
Global Head, X-Force Red Penetration Testing Services
Patrick Fussell
Patrick Fussell
Global Head, X-Force Red Adversary Simulation Services
Ray Sims
Ray Sims
Global Head of Strategy and Technology, X-Force

Related services

X-Force Cyber Range and cyber crisis management

The elite training that your business leaders need to improve your readiness to effectively respond to a breach.

Incident response services

Improve your organization’s incident response program, minimize the impact of a breach and experience rapid response to cybersecurity incidents.

X-Force Threat Intelligence Services

Global security intelligence experts with industry-leading analysis to help you identify and anticipate the latest threats.

Exposure management services

Helps organizations quickly identify and prioritize high-risk vulnerabilities, combining tools, expert support and intelligent insights to strengthen security and streamline remediation.

Next steps

Connect with X-Force Red experts to identify vulnerabilities, test defenses and prioritize actions that strengthen cyber resilience.

  1. Schedule a discovery session
  2. Subscribe to IdeaWatch newsletter