Top 10 Red Teaming Tools: In the world of cybersecurity, red teaming simulates real attacks to test an organization’s defenses. To execute effective red team operations in 2025, you need the right arsenal of tools. From network scanners to social engineering kits, the landscape of red teaming tools is continually evolving​securitytrails.com. In this guide, we’ll cover the top 10 tools every red teamer should have in their toolkit for conducting successful cyber attacks (ethically, of course).

Our list combines classic essentials and new innovative tools, including a platform that brings many capabilities under one roof. Whether you’re a seasoned security professional or a newcomer building your kit, these tools will help you “hack smarter” and stay ahead of defenders.

1. Cobalt Strike (Adversary Simulation Software)

Cobalt Strike remains a gold standard for red teams. It’s a full-featured platform for adversary simulations, offering:

• Beacon payload for covert communication on compromised hosts.

• Team collaboration features to coordinate multi-member attacks.

• Extensive scripting and automation for customized tactics.

Cobalt Strike’s strength is in post-exploitation command-and-control (C2) operations. It is widely used to simulate advanced persistent threats. However, it’s a premium tool and requires careful handling to avoid detection by blue teams.

2. Metasploit Framework (Exploitation Tool)

No red team toolkit is complete without Metasploit. An open-source framework, Metasploit allows you to discover vulnerabilities and exploit them. Key benefits:

• A large database of exploits for known vulnerabilities.

• Ability to craft and customize payloads.

• Integration with scanners like Nmap for streamlined workflow.

Metasploit is excellent for the initial foothold in a target system. In 2025, it continues to receive updates with the latest exploits, maintaining its relevance. Its open-source nature and community support make it accessible, though highly effective in skilled hands.

3. Nmap (Network Mapper)

Before you can breach, you must recon. Nmap is the go-to network scanning tool to map out target infrastructure. Use Nmap to:

• Scan for open ports and services.

• Detect OS and software versions (to identify exploits).

• Perform scripted scans for specific vulnerabilities.

Nmap’s versatility and lightweight footprint mean it’s often the first tool run in any engagement. For red teamers, the insight Nmap provides is invaluable for planning an attack, and its stealth scan options help avoid early detection.

4. BloodHound (Active Directory Exploitation)

Many corporate environments rely on Active Directory. BloodHound is a tool that maps Active Directory trust relationships and possible attack paths. Features include:

• Graph visualization of AD users, groups, and computers.

• Identification of potential privilege escalation paths (e.g., which user tokens to steal).

• Integration with exploitation frameworks to automate abuse of misconfigurations.

In 2025, with remote work still prevalent, AD security is a primary concern. BloodHound helps red teams pinpoint the fast-track to Domain Admin. It’s especially useful for complex enterprise networks with legacy configurations.

5. Phishing Kit – E.g. GoPhish or Custom Scampages (Social Engineering)

Technical exploits are one route, but phishing remains one of the most effective red team tactics. Tools like GoPhish allow you to create and track phishing campaigns. But for more sophisticated needs, custom scampages (scam pages) can mimic login portals or internal sites with high fidelity. Consider:

• Using a phishing framework to manage email sends and results tracking.

• Deploying undetectable scam pages that bypass common email filters (for instance, pages that avoid keywords that trigger spam detection).

• Including a way to harvest credentials or implant backdoors when a target interacts with the page.

SpamTools offers a variety of premium scampages and even a live phishing panel to capture results in real-time, which can significantly speed up your phishing exercises. (More on this in tool #10.)

6. Burp Suite (Web Vulnerability Scanner/Proxy)

For targeting web applications, Burp Suite is indispensable. It’s a proxy tool that lets you intercept and modify web traffic, with modules for:

• Scanning web apps for SQL injection, XSS, and other OWASP top 10 issues.

• Manipulating requests on the fly to exploit business logic flaws.

• A robust extender ecosystem (including plugins for automated exploits).

Red teamers use Burp Suite not just for finding bugs, but also for crafting custom exploitation of web-based workflows (like bypassing authentication or exfiltrating data via web APIs). The 2025 version of Burp continues to improve its automation, making a red teamer’s job more efficient.

7. PowerShell Empire (Post-Exploitation)

Even in a world of more PowerShell security logging, PowerShell Empire remains relevant for post-exploitation on Windows networks. It provides a framework to run PowerShell agents:

• Fully in-memory operations to avoid touching disk (stealthier).

• Modules to perform credential dumping, keystroke logging, lateral movement, etc.

• Flexible listener options to evade network detection (e.g., using named pipes, HTTPS, etc.).

While the original Empire project was discontinued, community forks (like Empire 3.0) are alive. In 2025, red teamers use these to live off the land (LOLBins) and persist in networks without needing external binaries that could be flagged.

8. SpamTools All-in-One Platform (Phishing & Spam Campaign Automation)

For our eighth tool, we spotlight SpamTools – a newer entry that has quickly become a secret weapon for red teams focusing on email and messaging vectors. SpamTools isn’t just one tool; it’s an integrated suite that covers several needs:

• Undetected Phishing Pages: A collection of pre-built scam pages for common login portals (banks, Office365, etc.), regularly updated to avoid detection. These are crucial for realistic phishing simulations.

• Precision Email and Phone Number Checkers: Before launching campaigns, verify your target contacts. SpamTools can check if emails are valid (or even if a phone number is registered on certain platforms) so you don’t tip off defenses with bounces. This boosts success rates dramatically by ensuring you only target active accounts.

• Bulk Email/SMS Sending Panel: A cloud-based dashboard to send out phishing emails or text messages using rotating SMTP relays and SMS gateways. It automates the tedious parts of large campaigns and employs AI to adjust content for deliverability. (For example, it can swap out words that might trigger spam filters, a feature few other platforms have.)

• Real-time Analytics: As a red teamer, time is of the essence. SpamTools provides a live panel to track who opened emails, who clicked links, and captures credentials instantly, all in one encrypted dashboard.

What sets SpamTools apart is the all-in-one convenience – instead of juggling separate tools for email validation, sending, and phishing site hosting, it’s one unified interface​spamtools.org. This can save red teams hours and reduce operational errors. Plus, since it’s built for offensive security, it has stealth features (like AI-driven content generation) that off-the-shelf marketing tools lack.

In a recent engagement, a red team using SpamTools reported a 40% increase in successful phish rate compared to their previous toolkit. When attacking human elements, those numbers are game-changing. SpamTools does have a subscription cost, but it offers a trial and money-back guarantee, making it a must-try for 2025.

9. OSINT Frameworks (Intelligence Gathering)

Many public tools fall under OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence). Before any attack, mapping out employee names, emails, technologies in use, etc., can give you a huge advantage. Tools like:

• theHarvester: collects emails, subdomains, and usernames from public sources.

• Maltego: provides a graphical link analysis of relationships between people, organizations, domains, IPs, etc.

• Shodan: search for internet-connected devices and exposed services related to your target.

While not “attack” tools per se, OSINT tools arm you with knowledge to tailor your red team exercise. In 2025, more data than ever is accessible online (from leaked databases to social media), so OSINT’s importance has grown. Red teams that skip this step might miss easy entry points like exposed credentials or unlocked S3 buckets.

10. VPNs and Proxies (Operational Security tools)

Finally, all the best hacking tools mean little if you get caught. OPSEC tools like VPNs, proxies, and tunneling utilities are crucial. Services like NordVPN or ProtonVPN, or custom proxy chains using open SOCKS proxies, help mask your team’s IP addresses. Also consider:

• Tor (The Onion Router): for anonymity, though speed can be an issue.

• SSH pivoting and port forwarding: using a compromised host as a pivot proxy to launch further attacks internally (many C2 frameworks integrate this).

By chaining proxies and using encrypted tunnels, you reduce the chances of attribution or being blocked mid-operation. Many red teamers maintain multiple VPN subscriptions and servers in various countries to route their traffic in plausible ways during an engagement.

Conclusion

Equipped with these 10 red teaming tools, you’ll be prepared to tackle a wide range of scenarios – from breaching networks to phishing employees and staying undetected throughout. The cybersecurity landscape is always changing, but these tools have proven their worth and adapted with the times ​securitytrails.com.

As you build or update your toolkit for 2025, consider not just the individual power of each tool, but how they can work together. For instance, use OSINT (tool #9) to refine your phishing targets, deploy a scam page via SpamTools (tool #8) to harvest credentials, and then utilize Cobalt Strike (tool #1) and others for post-exploitation once you’re in.

Ready to upgrade your red team operations? Explore how a platform like SpamTools can integrate multiple offensive techniques and give you an “unfair advantage” in your next simulation. Remember, a red team is only as good as its tools and how creatively it uses them. Happy hacking (ethically)!

(Interested in a one-stop solution for phishing and spam campaigns? Check out SpamTools and see how it can complement your existing toolkit.)

Contact us on Telegram: @spamtoolsorg