Red teaming is a critical component of offensive security programs for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), providing a comprehensive and realistic assessment of an organization’s cybersecurity defenses through simulated attacks conducted by ethical hackers. These exercises aim to expose vulnerabilities in technology, processes, and human elements before real attackers can exploit them, especially against advanced persistent threats (APTs) that combine social engineering with malware. Unlike traditional penetration testing, red teaming offers a holistic, adversarial approach, focusing on testing the organization's overall resilience and readiness rather than identifying individual vulnerabilities. By simulating real-world attack scenarios, red teams help validate detection and response capabilities, challenge assumptions about security measures, and translate technical findings into business risk terms, thus informing investment decisions and enhancing strategic resilience. These exercises not only measure an organization’s "immune response" to cyber threats but also prioritize risk reduction efforts by demonstrating the tangible impact of vulnerabilities. With regulatory bodies increasingly mandating such exercises in sectors like financial services, red teaming is recognized as essential for assuring stakeholders that an organization's defenses are robust against sophisticated threats.