Tiger team definition
A tiger team is commonly defined as a group of specialists brought together to work on a specific goal or solve a critical problem. This group is typically cross-functional, with experts from different fields and backgrounds. The term “tiger team” comes from the military and was popularized by NASA during the Apollo 13 mission. In cybersecurity, a tiger team refers to a group of skilled hackers that attempt to work on hacking strategies to enter the company’s network systems. A tiger teams’ work helps identify cybersecurity threats and loopholes, improving security.
Tiger team benefits
- Helps identify security issues. A highly-skilled team of hackers can quickly identify security loopholes and work to patch them up.
- Fast results. A small, specialized team works faster and more effectively than a large IT security team.
Tiger team cons
- Security issues. Even though tiger teams hack for ethical purposes, there is a danger of unauthorized access and the potential damage to IT systems.
- Extensive research and background checks. Companies must research and carefully assess individuals applying to join a tiger team. These checks are required to ensure the hackers will not use their skills to compromise the organization when the project is complete. These checks can be time consuming and require a lot of effort.
See also: ethical hacking, red team
