New consortium to improve security products

ICSA Labs has founded the Endpoint Security Consortium to help improve enterprise endpoint security products industrywide.

The mission of the consortium is to create publicly vetted, objective and credible security criteria against which endpoint security products can be tested and certified, as well as educate end users about endpoint products.

In addition, the consortium will also begin evaluating endpoint products as components of integrated Internet security programs. Traditionally, these products have been evaluated individually.

This class of products includes anti-malware, personal firewall and host intrusion prevention and detection.

“With such a broad range of products touching endpoint security, it is important that the industry pulls together to create consistency among these products to form an effective barrier against this class of threat,” said Andrew Hayter, anti-malcode program manager of ICSA Labs. “The creation of objective testing criteria will create a bar against which endpoint security products will be measured. As part of its charter, the consortium will also advance knowledge and best practices for endpoint security.”

The consortium’s charter members include AVG, McAfee and Microsoft Corp.

“McAfee looks forward to participating in the new ICSA Labs Endpoint Security Consortium and collaborating with the testing lab to drive endpoint security standards,” said Suresh Subramanian, senior product manager at McAfee. “McAfee is pleased to see the industry work together to develop more real-life type testing and evaluation standards that help customers choose the right products for their unique environments.”