Formation of Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization

AMTSO, the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization, today announced its official formation and dedication to promulgating universally adopted standards and guidelines for anti-malware testing. The formation follows a meeting of more than 40 security software technologists and anti-malware testers from around the world in Bilbao, Spain recently.

The formation of AMTSO has been driven by industry-wide concern about the increasing mismatch between what anti-malware technologies actually do, and the testing methodologies used to evaluate them. As anti-malware solutions become more complex, many existing tests are unable to evaluate product effectiveness properly, resulting in product reviews that are sometimes incomplete, inaccurate and misleading.

AMTSO is focused on addressing the global need for improvement in the objectivity, quality and relevance of testing methodologies. AMTSO will:

• Provide a forum for discussions related to the testing of anti-malware and related products;
• Develop and publicize objective standards and best practices for testing of anti-malware and related products;
• Promote education and awareness of issues related to the testing of anti-malware and related products;
• Provide tools and resources to aid standards-based testing methodologies; and,
• Provide analysis and review of current and future testing of anti-malware and related products.

"No-one is in any doubt that the malware problem, driven by financial gain and organized criminal gangs, has become more serious in recent years," said Stuart Taylor, SophosLabs manager, Sophos. "Fortunately, security vendors have developed more advanced methods to proactively counter these threats with greater efficiency than ever before. However, traditional tests are becoming increasingly irrelevant as they fail to take into account the new technologies built into security solutions. One of AMTSO's objectives is help drive better real-world tests for everyone, which will benefit all computer users looking for the highest level of protection."

"AMTSO brings together the industry's leading security and risk academics, vendors and testers to provide testing methodologies and standards better suited to evaluate the protection available to combat today's malware and related security threats. This will in turn benefit end users, who will be empowered to make more informed decisions about the particular security solutions that match their needs," said Vernon Jackson, manager Virus Prevention Systems, IBM Global Technology Services.