McAfee, Inc., Symantec Corp., Trend Micro Incorporated, ICSA Labs, and Thompson Cyber Security Labs Unite to Establish Industry
January 30 2006 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Endeavor Will Improve Anti-Spyware Products and Help Consumers
Better Evaluate Spyware Mitigation Technologies SANTA CLARA,
Calif., Jan 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE),
Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ:SYMC), Trend Micro Incorporated
(TSE:4704TSE:Nasdaq:TSE:TMIC), ICSA Labs and Thompson Cyber
Security Labs today announced an agreement to create identification
and testing methodologies for spyware mitigation technologies. As a
result of this collaboration, enterprise and consumer customers
will be able to make better informed anti-spyware technology
decisions, with product tests based on standardized third-party
evaluation criteria and with common standard samples used in
detection and testing environments. Spyware and other potentially
unwanted technologies are some of the fastest growing risks to
consumers and organizations, increasing at an estimated rate of 50
to 100 percent year over year, according to some security experts.
Given the need to address this growing threat through spyware
mitigation technologies, this collaboration will eliminate
confusion and empower customers to purchase solutions that meet
their individual needs. When publishing results and product
recommendations, few product testers currently document their test
samples or methodology, and many use very small sample sets in
their testing environments. As a result, there is no
distinguishable benchmark for comparison of anti-spyware product
vendors, leaving customers unclear as to the most effective
products and solutions for their environments. "There is an
enormous amount of confusion in the marketplace about the origins
of spyware and the effectiveness of the tools designed to fight
it," said Larry Bridwell of ICSA Labs, an independent division of
Cybertrust. "This agreement is an important first step in maturing
the industry to the point where it can effectively combat the
proliferation of spyware on behalf of customers, providing a safer
and more efficient online environment for everyone." By employing
standard metrics for third-party evaluation, and a common sample
standard, those previously difficult-to-measure characteristics can
be made consistent across the industry, enabling customers to make
transparent solution comparisons. Future initiatives of this group
of spyware experts will leverage the participating members'
experience in anti-virus research cooperation for threat naming
conventions, intelligence-sharing best practices, and emergency
information distribution guidelines. The group will use the
definitions created by the Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC) and work
closely with the ASC in its effort to develop guidelines for
research tools. Many members of the group are active leaders in the
ASC. The group's anti-spyware testing methodology and best
practices can be viewed at http://www.spywaretesting.org/. ICSA
Labs Laura Wooster, Cybertrust 703-480-8535 McAfee, Inc. "McAfee is
pleased to be part of an effort that will benefit customers and
make serious in-roads into the fight against spyware. Having seen
over a decade of cooperation in the anti-virus industry, we know
that our products are better for it, our customers are better
protected for it, and that our industry is better for it -- there
are now even more anti-virus vendors now than when we started."
--Joe Telafici, director of operations, McAfee AVERT(R) Labs
Contact: Tracy Ross 408-346-5965 Michael Azzano 415-596-1978
Symantec Corp. "The successful industry practices previously
established for sharing virus information demonstrate the
effectiveness of cooperation among Internet security experts," said
Vincent Weafer, senior director of development, Symantec Security
Response. "By standardizing methods for sharing spyware samples and
testing antispyware solutions, customers win." Contact: Pamela S.
Reese 310-449-8557 Sherri Walkenhorst 801-373-7888 Thompson Cyber
Security Labs "It's a great idea, and absolutely needed. Without
some testing standards, marketers can make whatever claims they
like, and can find a tester to help them prove it. As the situation
currently is, the public is the big loser. This will set the stage
for determining which products really do work, and which ones
don't. It eventually will make all products stronger, and the world
safer." - Roger Thompson Contact: Roger Thompson 678-438-6961 Trend
Micro Incorporated "Spyware is a very different breed to the virus
but, through many years of experience fighting the virus threat we
have learned significant lessons, many of which can be put into
play fighting the escalating spyware threat," said Joe Hartmann,
director, security intelligence research group, Trend Micro. "The
spyware threat is growing, as are the number of victims. Working
together with other security leaders to extend research, to quicken
response times and to further protection, is our professional
responsibility to the global community as well as social
responsibility to our customer-base." Contact: Michael Sweeny 408
863-6384 Elizabeth Blanch +44 1628 400513 DATASOURCE: McAfee, Inc.
CONTACT: Laura Wooster of Cybertrust, +1-703-480-8535, or ; or
Tracy Ross of McAfee, +1-408-346-5965, or ; or Michael Azzano for
McAfee, +1-415-596-1978, or ; or Pamela S. Reese of Symantec,
+1-310-449-8557, or ; or Sherri Walkenhorst for Symantec,
+1-801-373-7888, or ; or Roger Thompson of Thompson Cyber Security
Labs, +1-678-438-6961, or ; or Michael Sweeny, +1-408-863-6384, or
; or Elizabeth Blanch, +44 1628 400513, or , both of Trend Micro
Web site: http://www.mcafee.com/
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