Bradley Red Team - Bradley University

Center for Cybersecurity – Bradley Red Team

The Bradley Red Team is the centerpiece of Bradley University’s hands-on cybersecurity education. Formed through MIS 483 – Advanced Ethical Hacking, serving on the Bradley Red Team provides students with a unique opportunity to step into the role of ethical hackers and conduct full-scale security assessments for real clients in the Peoria area.

Unlike traditional lab-based courses, Bradley’s approach immerses students in live environments, testing not just technical defenses but also physical and human vulnerabilities. Each semester, students work as a team to plan and execute a comprehensive engagement, providing clients with valuable insights into their security posture — and recommendations for strengthening it.

What the Red Team Does

With client authorization, Red Team students conduct assessments that include:

Physical Security: Attempting facility entry through social engineering, lockpicking, or bypass techniques.
Social Engineering: Crafting phishing campaigns, vishing calls, or pretexting scenarios to gather sensitive information.
Technical Security: Testing networks, wireless systems, and applications for exploitable weaknesses.
Operational Security: Evaluating processes, procedures, and employee awareness of security risks.

At the end of each engagement, clients receive a professional report that highlights vulnerabilities, provides proof-of-concept exploits, and offers actionable steps to improve resilience.

Learning That Lasts a Lifetime

The Bradley Red Team experience transforms how students think about cybersecurity. Even those who don’t pursue careers in penetration testing or red teaming gain:

A sharper understanding of how attackers operate.
An appreciation for how easily organizations can be compromised.
The skills and mindset needed to build stronger defenses in any cybersecurity role.

Graduates of MIS 483 have gone on to careers in penetration testing, incident response, consulting, governance, risk, compliance, and beyond, carrying with them the lessons learned from high-stakes, real-world engagements.

A Living Legacy

To preserve and build upon student knowledge, each semester’s team contributes to the Bradley Red Team Operations Manual — a living document that evolves with new techniques, tools, and lessons learned. This ensures each new cohort benefits from the expertise of those who came before. In 2024, we also launched the Bradley Red Team Hall of Fame to honor alumni whose achievements and contributions exemplify the spirit of the program.

Why It Matters

The Bradley Red Team is more than a class. It’s a community of cyber defenders who support local organizations, strengthen industry readiness, and carry forward Bradley’s mission of excellence in cybersecurity education.

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