Photo By Spc. Brooke Kentler | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Autumn Gipson, assigned to the 164th Combat Support,...... read more read more
Subscribe
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Before cyber defenders can stop an attack, they first need to understand how an adversary operates. At Cyber Shield 2026, that responsibility falls to the Opposition Force (OPFOR), also known as the Red Team.
Cyber Shield 2026 challenges participants from across the U.S. military, government agencies, and international partner organizations to defend networks against realistic cyber threats by pitting Red and Blue Teams against each other. At the center of those scenarios is the OPFOR Red Team.
Before participants ever begin conducting offensive operations, Red Team instructors teach them how attackers think. Through OPFOR Fundamentals and other training tracks, students ranging from complete beginners to experienced cyber professionals learn the mindset behind offensive cybersecurity and how attackers exploit vulnerabilities while attempting to remain undetected.
"What we have found out over the years is not everybody walks in the door thinking like an attacker," said Torry Crass, a Red Team instructor and former State Chief Risk Officer for North Carolina. "We will teach them."
While Blue Teams work to detect and defend networks against cyber threats, the Red Team serves as the exercise's adversary, replicating tactics used by real-world threat actors. By mimicking how malicious actors infiltrate systems, steal information, and disrupt operations, Red Team members provide realistic training that prepares participants to respond to cyber incidents before they happen in the real world.
"The big thing OPFOR Red Team is here to do is provide training value to Blue Team," Crass said. "Red Team presents them with threats and technical things that are taking place in the real world and that are emulated into the activities.”
Throughout the exercise, Red Team members simulate advanced cyber-attacks modeled after tactics used by state-sponsored cyber groups and other sophisticated attackers. Rather than simply attempting to "beat" the defenders, every scenario is carefully designed to challenge participants while reinforcing the skills needed to recognize and respond to evolving cyber threats.
Although the exercise places Red Team and Blue Team on opposing sides, both groups share the same objective: strengthening cyber defenders. Crass explained that successful training is not measured by whether Red Team remains undetected, but by whether Blue Team learns to identify and stop increasingly realistic attacks.
"We want Blue Teams to catch us," Crass said. "There isn't failure in not catching Red Team; the failure would be not learning."
By challenging defenders with realistic adversary tactics in a controlled environment, Red Team helps ensure Cyber Shield participants leave better prepared to defend military, government, and critical infrastructure networks against the cyber threats they may encounter long after the exercise ends.
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2026 21:23 |
| Story ID: | 570419 |
| Location: | LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Cyber Shield's Opposition Force Strengthens Cyber Defenders, by SPC Brooke Kentler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
