INSIGHT

Penetration Testing vs. Purple Teaming: Choosing the Right Assessment 

Jon Parrish, Josh Schmidt • October 5, 2026

Services: Purple Teaming, Penetration Testing Services

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Cybersecurity leaders are under constant pressure to strengthen defenses, validate security controls and stay ahead of evolving threats. As institutions evaluate their security programs, understanding the purpose of different assessment types becomes increasingly important. 

When evaluating penetration testing vs. purple teaming, security leaders often discover the two assessments are designed to answer different questions. While both evaluate security readiness, they serve distinct purposes and produce different types of insights. 

If you’re trying to determine which assessment is right for your institution, the decision often comes down to your goals. Are you looking to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an attacker? Or are you looking to understand how effectively your teams, tools and processes detect and respond to threats? Understanding the differences can help you choose the assessment that delivers the most value for your organization. 

What Is Penetration Testing? 

A penetration test is a controlled security assessment designed to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by a malicious actor. During a penetration test, security professionals simulate real-world attack techniques to evaluate systems, applications, networks or other assets. 

The objective is straightforward: uncover weaknesses before an attacker does. 

A penetration test may reveal vulnerabilities such as outdated software, misconfigurations, weak authentication controls or insecure application code. Findings are typically prioritized according to risk and accompanied by remediation recommendations. 

For many institutions, penetration testing provides an objective view of their attack surface, helping security leaders better understand where vulnerabilities exist and where remediation efforts should be prioritized. 

“A penetration test answers the question: If someone tried to break in today, what could they realistically get to? That’s insight organizations are usually looking for,” says Jon Parrish, Technical Assessment Manager at BPM. 

What Is Purple Teaming? 

Purple teaming takes a more collaborative approach to security testing by bringing offensive security professionals and defensive teams together throughout an assessment. Rather than operating independently, both groups work together to evaluate how effectively existing security controls, monitoring capabilities and response processes perform against specific attack techniques. 

During a purple team engagement, attackers and defenders share information, validate assumptions and review results together. This allows organizations to identify detection gaps, improve response procedures and strengthen collaboration across security functions. 

Organizations often use purple teaming to evaluate how well their people, processes and technology perform when confronted with realistic attack scenarios. 

“Purple teaming is less about trying to surprise the defense team and more about helping everyone learn from the exercise. You get a chance to see what’s working, where visibility breaks down and what improvements will have the biggest impact,” says Parrish. 

Penetration Testing vs. Purple Teaming: Key Differences 

Category	Penetration Testing	Purple Teaming
Primary goal	Identify and validate exploitable vulnerabilities	Evaluate detection, response and security effectiveness
Approach	Simulated attack conducted by security testers	Collaborative exercise involving offensive and defensive teams
Team involvement	Limited participation from internal security teams	Active engagement from internal security teams
Focus	Finding weaknesses and security gaps	Improving visibility, response and coordination
Deliverables	Vulnerability findings, risk rankings and remediation guidance	Detection insights, process improvements and control validation
Best suited for	Organizations seeking visibility into vulnerabilities	Organizations evaluating security operations and response capabilities
Typical outcome	Prioritized remediation roadmap	Stronger security monitoring and response processes

The differences between penetration testing and purple teaming are significant, but that doesn’t mean one assessment is better than the other. The right choice depends on what your institution is trying to learn and improve. 

Penetration Testing vs. Purple Teaming: Which Security Questions Are You Trying to Answer? 

When evaluating assessment options, it can be helpful to start with your objectives rather than the specific service. If your primary concern is understanding where vulnerabilities exist within your environment, penetration testing may be the better fit. If you’re focused on how effectively your security team detects and responds to threats, purple teaming may provide more meaningful insights. 

The difference may sound small, but it affects the type of insight you’ll gain from the assessment and how that information can be applied across your security program. 

If You’re Focused on Finding Vulnerabilities 

Organizations looking to identify exploitable weaknesses, validate security controls or evaluate specific systems often turn to penetration testing. The assessment can also help support regulatory, compliance and audit requirements while providing a clearer understanding of how an attacker might gain access to critical assets. 

For financial institutions, penetration testing can provide valuable visibility into the security of customer-facing applications, internal infrastructure and other high-value systems. 

Because the assessment is focused on identifying weaknesses, the resulting findings often serve as a roadmap for remediation efforts and future security investments. 

If You’re Focused on Testing Detection and Response 

Organizations that have already invested in security technologies and internal security operations may be more interested in evaluating how effectively those capabilities perform against real-world attack scenarios. Purple teaming allows security teams to identify detection gaps, validate incident response processes and assess how well tools and personnel work together during an event. 

Rather than focusing primarily on what vulnerabilities exist, the exercise helps reveal how effectively the organization recognizes, investigates and responds to suspicious activity. 

For institutions seeking to improve operational readiness, those insights can help prioritize process improvements and strengthen overall security effectiveness. 

Can Organizations Benefit From Both Assessments? 

In many cases, yes. 

Penetration testing and purple teaming should not be viewed as competing services. They provide different perspectives on security readiness and can complement one another as part of a broader cybersecurity strategy. 

Organizations evaluating penetration testing vs. purple teaming do not necessarily have to choose one approach exclusively. 

For example, a penetration test may uncover vulnerabilities that require remediation. A subsequent purple team exercise can help determine whether security controls and monitoring processes can detect activity associated with those vulnerabilities. 

Likewise, insights from a purple team engagement may highlight areas where additional testing could provide deeper visibility into specific risks. 

The most appropriate approach depends on an institution’s objectives, current security priorities and overall risk profile. 

Choosing the Right Assessment for Your Institution 

Cybersecurity assessments are most effective when they align with the outcomes you’re trying to achieve. If your goal is to identify vulnerabilities and understand where weaknesses exist, penetration testing may provide the clarity you need. If you’re looking to evaluate how well your teams, tools and processes work together to detect and respond to threats, purple teaming may deliver greater value. 

For some organizations, the answer may be one approach. For others, it may be a combination of both. 

The key to choosing between penetration testing and purple teaming is understanding what questions you’re trying to answer and what outcomes you’re hoping to achieve. 

If you’re unsure which assessment aligns with your institution’s goals, BPM’s cybersecurity professionals can help evaluate your environment, priorities and risk profile to determine the best path forward.