ICSA Labs is launching a quarterly testing program for network intrusion prevention systems. The quarterly testing, which is available to all IPS manufacturers, is also an enhancement to ICSA Labs' certification program, which conducts similar rigorous testing once a year on intrusion protection systems.


ach quarter, ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, will test network IPS products against the most relevant and severe security vulnerabilities. In the first test, five products were evaluated, including Sourcefire 3D4500, Stonesoft StoneGate IPS-1205, HP TippingPoint S660N and HP TippingPoint S330.

Each product was tested against several vulnerabilities that were less than three months old. After the initial test, the companies were able to review the results and improve their products. A second test was then conducted.

The results from the second test showed strong overall improvement over the first test's results, with an effectiveness rating ranging from 81.3 percent to 90.6 percent and an average score of 86.2 percent. The effectiveness rating in the first test ranged from 59.4 percent to 78.1 percent, and the average score was 69.4 percent.

For subsequent quarterly tests, two sets of vulnerabilities will be used. The first set will feature vulnerabilities that are less than three months old. The second will feature the vulnerabilities that were tested in the previous quarter. This will enable vendors to update and improve their vulnerability coverage against new and existing threats.