Two Approaches for Offensive Testing of AI Systems: Architecture-led AI Application Penetration Test and Threat-led AI Red Team Assessment

This SpiderLabs guidance contrasts two complementary approaches for assessing AI security: an architecture-led AI application penetration test that focuses on system design, components, and trust boundaries to provide structured assurance and remediation, and a threat-led AI red team assessment that simulates chained, realistic adversary scenarios to validate detection and response; the report explains objectives, when to choose each approach, prerequisites, stakeholder involvement, typical scenarios, and the distinct value each provides.