Cobalt Strike
Commercial adversary-simulation platform for red teams, built around the Beacon post-exploitation agent and a shared team server.
- Category
- Offensive Security & Pentesting
- Pricing
- Paid
- Platforms
- LinuxWindowsmacOS
- Reviewed
- Last reviewed 24 September 2026
What it is
Cobalt Strike, sold by Fortra, is a commercial framework for adversary simulation and red team operations. Operators connect to a shared team server and control Beacon, its post-exploitation agent.
What it helps with
Emulating a persistent, stealthy threat actor inside a network so an organisation can test how well it detects and responds to one. Covert communication channels and collaboration between operators are central to it.
Who it's for
Professional red teams and security consultancies running authorised adversary-simulation engagements.
Worth knowing
Licensing is commercial and per user, and pricing comes by quote. The team server runs on Linux; the client runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Unlicensed copies are widely misused by criminals, so defenders commonly build detections for it.