RSA 2008: ICSA Labs introduces formal testing of anti-spam products

ICSA Labs announced that it has certified six anti-spam products under the new testing program. The formal, independent testing was created to verify that a vendor’s anti-spam product effectively reduces unwanted e-mail.

The first six anti-spam products earning ICSA Labs’ Certification are Fortinet FortiMail-4000A, IBM ISS Proventia Network Multi-Function Security (anti-spam module), IBM ISS Proventia Network Mail Security System, Kaspersky Anti-Spam 3.0, Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway, and Symantec Mail Security 8200-8300 Series.

The goal of ICSA Labs’ anti-spam product testing and certification is to evaluate product effectiveness in detecting and removing spam. The guidelines also address how well the products recognize e-mail messages from legitimate sources. Products awarded the coveted ICSA Labs’ certification have been found to satisfy specific baseline requirements, such as a 95 percent effectiveness with a 1 in 100,000 false positive rate, for small to medium- sized businesses, large enterprises and carriers.

ICSA Labs Anti-Spam Certification Program is an independent and comprehensive process that rigorously tests, assesses and validates anti-spam products in a real-world environment.