ICSA Labs Enhances Anti-Virus Testing Program with 'Extended WildList'

ICSA Labs, a division of telecom service provider Verizon (News - Alert), announced that it is testing products in its Anti-Virus program against virus samples from the WildList, a database of real-world viruses considered harmful to PC users, and the Extended WildList, consisting additional malware such as keyloggers and Trojans.

ICSA Labs is a third-party certification body offering an anti-virus program that tests against the Extended WildList.

The testing by the Verizon division benefits computer users at home and at work as the virus products certified by ICSA Labs can protect users from a broader set of malware. 

In order to receive ICSA Labs' certification, anti-virus products need to accurately detect at least 92 percent of viruses on the Extended WildList, 100 percent of viruses on the WildList, and 90 percent of viruses on ICSA Labs' malware collection.  

ICSA Labs tests anti-virus products against a collection of proprietary malware samples to verify a high level of protection for users. Malware collection of ICSA Labs, an ISO/IEC (News - Alert) 17025 accredited and 9001 registered organization, includes thousands of uncommon or inactive malware samples, company officials said.

"In keeping with ICSA Labs' philosophy, updating criteria to reflect new security threats is the cornerstone of our certification programs," said Andy Hayter, anti-malcode program manager at ICSA Labs, in a statement.

"To address evolving threats, ICSA Labs frequently updates testing criteria to verify that vendors are making their products more secure. In this instance, anti-virus products must now identify more types of malware," Hayter added.

Recently, ICSA Labs announced its new certification program that assists manufacturers to certify their broadband home routers. The program, called Managed Broadband Home Router Certification, evaluates a router's effectiveness in identifying safe versus harmful data. 

 Leveraging the certification, certified broadband home routers can offer consumers a higher level of security assurance.