PurpleSharp vs SCYTHE

PurpleSharp is a free, open-source C# adversary simulation tool for Windows Active Directory environments. It generates attack telemetry for detection teams building and testing analytics, checking detection resilience, locating visibility gaps, and identifying event-logging pipeline problems. Documentation maps 47 MITRE ATT&CK techniques across execution, persistence, privilege escalation, credential access, lateral movement, discovery, and defense evasion. JSON playbooks can combine techniques, define variations, and set technique-specific parameters. Local simulations run interactively after copying the PurpleSharp assembly to a host. Remote simulations use Windows SMB and RPC, requiring administrative credentials on the target plus network access to TCP ports 445 and 135. Scout tasks retrieve audit policy, event subscriptions, PowerShell logging settings, processes, and services. ATT&CK Navigator layers can be exported or imported as JSON playbooks. PurpleSharp is self-hosted on Windows, requires .NET Framework 4.5, and is licensed under BSD 3-Clause. The latest documented release is v1.3 from August 2021.

SCYTHE is a continuous Adversarial Exposure Validation platform for enterprise security teams. It runs MITRE ATT&CK-mapped adversary campaigns, including multi-stage campaigns based on named threat actors, to check whether controls detect, alert, block and respond. Results map to ATT&CK coverage and identified gaps. AI can generate campaigns from plain-language threat descriptions, but execution requires human approval. Deployment options include cloud SaaS, on-premises, hybrid and air-gapped environments. Listed integrations include CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne, Cortex XDR, Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar, Google Chronicle, Elastic SIEM, ServiceNow and Jira. SCYTHE says it connects bidirectionally with SIEM, SOAR, EDR, ticketing systems and security controls. Its tests are described as controlled, configurable, logged and auditable; destructive capabilities require explicit authorization. Included attack surfaces are Windows, macOS, Linux, cloud and OT/ICS. The company identifies itself as SOC 2 Type II certified and describes an annual independent security audit. Pricing is custom-quoted based on environment scope, and there is no free plan, though a free trial is available. Managed validation is also offered.