Certification issues unmasked in 20-year lab survey.
Renowned testing and certification group
ICSA Labs
has released a fascinating report drawing back the curtain on its security product tests – the detailed results of which are generally kept quiet as products go through the process of achieving certification.
Among the most widely noted facts in the report is the large number of products that require multiple cycles through the test programme before they manage to achieve certifiable standards.
As with many certification bodies,
ICSA
generally reports only the status of those products that have made the grade and been awarded certification, while failure to reach the required standards usually results in a private report to the vendor involved so that they can fix any problems with the product and have another go at the test.
According to the report, only 4% of all products tested achieve certification on the first attempt – although 27% of anti-malware solutions are found to be certifiable from the off, the average is heavily dented by the VPN and web application firewall categories, where no product has ever made the grade without receiving advice and assistance from the certifiers.
While these figures have been picked up by the sensational press as indicators of general inadequacy across the security industry, the report aims to highlight the tough and challenging nature of the certification process, and the efforts gone to by certification labs to work with vendors to improve their solutions, providing expertise and cross-industry cooperation.
The report also provides an overview of the history of
ICSA
and the security industry and offers advice to both product developers and potential buyers, with a lengthy checklist of criteria to consider when selecting a security solution. The report was created in collaboration with
ICSA
owner
Verizon Business
, and was issued as part of the inauguration of a new blog. The first entry of the blog, penned by contributing writer and
ICSA
MD George Japak, is available
here
. The report itself can be found
here
, with comments on the
ESET
blog
here
, and in
The Register
here
.
Posted on 11 November 2009 by
Virus Bulletin
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