Atomic Red Team vs OpenAEV

Atomic Red Team is a free library of tests security teams can run to check controls, validate visibility, and assess detection coverage. Its tests emulate adversary behaviors and map to the MITRE ATT&CK matrix. They have few dependencies and use a structured format suited to automation frameworks. Invoke-AtomicRedTeam is a PowerShell module for testing defenses against attack techniques; it can run tests locally or on remote machines through PowerShell Remoting. Atomic Runner can run a configurable list unattended, once per week by default. The project includes a Ruby API to validate tests and generate documentation, and pulls ATT&CK data in STIX form. Listed integrations include Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, AttackIQ, Datadog Workload Security Evaluator, OpenBAS, Splunk Attack Range, and Tidal Cyber. Coverage includes Windows, Linux, macOS, cloud infrastructure, containers, SaaS, Azure AD, Google Workspace, Office 365, and IaaS providers. Tests can be chained manually, but there is no automated solution for emulating a specific attack group as a whole. Users are instructed to obtain permission from the environment owner before running a test.

OpenAEV is an Adversarial Exposure Validation platform for creating cyberattack simulations, stress tests, and crisis exercises. Its breach and attack simulations draw on cyber threat intelligence and map scenarios to MITRE ATT&CK and ATLAS. Attack Chaining links actions into paths based on findings; teams can orchestrate these manually or use dedicated agents. Structured tabletop exercises are available for evaluating readiness, escalation, coordination, communication, and response. Adversarial Exposure Scoring tracks posture over time and maps coverage to MITRE ATT&CK and domain-based controls. The product lists more than 30 integrations and connections to OpenCTI, threat feeds, EDR/XDR, SIEM, and SOC playbooks. Deployment options include cloud, on-premise, and multi-tenant setups, with air-gapped and bring-your-own-cloud options listed for Enterprise Edition. Community Edition is free forever for on-premise core simulations and tabletop exercises, with community support. Enterprise Edition pricing is quote-based, and its SaaS trial lasts 30 days. Components are available as Docker images and manual installation packages; Kubernetes is recommended for production deployments.