OPERATIONAL STATE: ACTIVE // HUMAN-IN-THE-LOOP

Independent Threat Emulation Research & Tooling

NextGenRedTeam (NGRT) is an independent security research lab focusing on threat emulation, purple teaming, and open-source tooling. We study how AI-driven automation combined with human expertise can advance defense validation, sharing our insights and tools with the security community.

ngrt_threat_scan.sh
guest@ngrt-threat-lab:~$
// CORE CAPABILITIES

Threat Emulation Research & Open-Source Tooling

We research emerging threat group behaviors, develop open-source playbooks, and reverse-engineer devices to help organizations validate their security posture and train defense teams.

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Threat Emulation Research

Adversary emulation is the cornerstone of proactive cyber defense. We specialize in researching, modeling, and recreating advanced persistent threat (APT) campaigns and modern ransomware deployment flows. By analyzing real-world tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) at the byte level, we provide organizations with the objective playbooks and telemetry footprints required to test and validate detection engineering pipelines against state-of-the-art evasive strategies.

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Purple Teaming & Collaborative Defense

True resilience is achieved when offensive insight meets defensive engineering. We develop structured purple teaming methodologies and collaborative feedback loops designed to break down security silos. Our research focuses on building open-source validation playbooks, mapping control coverage to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, and establishing continuous testing protocols that empower blue teams to identify, isolate, and remediate coverage gaps before real adversaries exploit them.

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Threat Research & Open-Source

We believe that contributing back to the security community is vital for collaborative defense. Our lab actively monitors emerging threat vectors, conducts deep malware analysis, and reverse-engineers legacy/abandoned IoT devices to mitigate operational risks. From writing custom decryption utilities to developing lightweight automation scripts, we build and release open-source security toolkits designed to make robust protection accessible for security practitioners and developers alike.

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Mentoring via Dead Pixel Sec

At NextGen RedTeam, we believe the future of cybersecurity isn’t just built on better tools—it’s built on better people. We are deeply committed to bridging the gap between raw potential and professional mastery by providing the next generation of defenders and operators with the guidance they actually need. Through hands-on, high-impact projects alongside the Dead Pixel Sec community, we move past surface-level theory to provide real-world technical mentorship and career navigation. Our mission is to foster a collaborative environment where emerging talent can stress-test their skills, refine their offensive methodology, and gain the confidence to lead in an increasingly complex threat landscape. We aren’t just teaching hacking; we’re cultivating a community of practitioners dedicated to excellence, integrity, and the relentless pursuit of improvement. Join the community on discord.gg/deadpixelsec.

// OPEN SOURCE REPOSITORIES

Featured Tools & Hardware Rescues

We believe in contributing back. We build and release tools for hardware hacking, API testing, and continuous orchestration, hosted in our public repository.

HARDWARE RESCUE // ACTIVE

JoeBro Controller

An open-source, zero-backend Progressive Web App (PWA) designed to control the smart features of Sobro Smart Coffee Tables. Bypasses the broken vendor application via direct Ayla Cloud API queries.

Platform: HTML5 / PWA
Target Protocol: Ayla IoT Cloud
License: MIT
THREAT EMULATION // RUNNING

NextGenRedPVE

A local threat emulation environment running on custom Proxmox VE nodes. Orchestrates local VM and LXC endpoints to run continuous pentesting loops using uncensored, abliterated local LLMs.

Target Platform: Proxmox VE / LXC
Local Inference: Ollama / vLLM
Core Models: Gemma-4-26B / DeepSeek-Lite
INTELLIGENCE AGENTS // STAGED

Swarm-AI Engine

A distributed agentic orchestration platform that decouples cognitive models from execution environments. Manages lightweight, ephemeral workers running MITRE and OWASP validation rules.

Architecture: Distributed Agents
Execution Node: Cloudflare Workers / Subprocesses
Reporting DB: Central SQL Intelligence
WINDOWS DETECTION // COMPLETED

EventID4625 Emulator

A cross-platform threat emulation tool designed to trigger Windows Security Event ID 4625 (failed logon) via automated SMB/NTLM network authentication handshakes.

Language: Go / Python / PowerShell / Bash
Target Protocol: SMB / NTLM (TCP 445)
Primary Log: Event ID 4625 (Windows Security Log)
LINUX DETECTION // COMPLETED

LinuxLoginFailure Emulator

A multi-language threat emulation suite that simulates failed SSH login attempts on Linux targets, programmatically testing password brute-forcing and key-based signatures.

Language: Go / Python / PowerShell / Bash
Target Protocol: SSH (TCP 22 / 2222)
Primary Log: /var/log/auth.log or secure
// PRESS & INDUSTRY COMMENTARY

Media Appearances & Expert Commentary

Featured technical analysis, press quotes, and threat research commentary by Joe Brinkley (Director of Offensive Security Research & Community at Cobalt / The Blind Hacker).

CSO ONLINE // CIO.COM AUG 2026

Security Leaders’ Rogue AI Confidence Could Actually Be Disastrous

Director of Offensive Security Research & Community, Cobalt

“Tracing agent impact fast is brutal. These systems do not run on fixed code paths. They use nondeterministic reasoning across a web of different APIs. Traditional logs only catch isolated events. They completely miss the full execution chain.”

Key Insight: Hard kill switches at the API layer (revoking OAuth tokens & API access) are required to contain rogue AI agents; soft prompt guardrails fail when agents drift out of scope.
HELP NET SECURITY JUN 2026

Companies Keep Bolting AI Onto Products & Security Bill Is Due

Director of Offensive Security Research & Community, Cobalt

“Shadow AI operates at the application layer, completely bypassing traditional infrastructure inventory tools. Scanners see normal web browsing while unvetted browser plugins communicate with third-party LLM APIs.”

Key Insight: Shift asset discovery from infrastructure IP scanning to application-layer telemetry, monitoring Layer 7 headers, DNS logs, and endpoint processes.
CYBERNEWS MAY 2026

Discovery Is Cheap, Validation Is Expensive: Rethinking Flaw Remediation

Head of Threat Research, Cobalt

“Discovery has become cheap, but validation remains incredibly expensive. Attempting to fix every single software flaw is counterproductive. Treat vulnerabilities like chronic symptoms and focus on real-world exploit paths.”

Key Insight: Focus vulnerability remediation on validated exploitation risks rather than chasing endless raw scanner output.
CSO ONLINE APR 2026

Bank Regulator Sounds Warning Over Cybersecurity Threat Posed by AI Models

Director of Offensive Security Research, Cobalt

“The barrier to entry for state-level cyber capabilities has now been lowered to the cost of an API key. If the financial sector fails to automate its defense, targeting will skyrocket.”

Key Insight: Advanced AI capabilities lower the cost of state-grade offensive tools; defense must shift from periodic pentesting to continuous, AI-integrated security operations.
CSO ONLINE JUL 2026

Lateral Movement Risk Rises as Enterprises Emphasize Convenience

Director of Offensive Security Research, Cobalt

“Organizations must move beyond pure detection and prioritize deterministic containment through micro-segmentation and strict, identity-driven least privilege to counter automated lateral movement.”

Key Insight: Prioritize deterministic containment over passive monitoring to stop automated, AI-driven lateral spread in enterprise networks.

Research Collaboration & Media

Interested in collaborating on open-source projects, discussing threat research, or booking media, podcasts, or speaking sessions? Get in touch or schedule a session below.

Schedule Collab & Media