ICSA Labs (International Computer Security Association) began as NCSA (National Computer Security Association). Its mission was to increase awareness of the need for computer security and to provide education about various security products and technologies. In its early days, NCSA focused almost solely on the certification of

anti-virus software Antivirus software (abbreviated to AV software), also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware. Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses, hence the name. ...

. Using the Consortia model, NCSA worked together with anti-virus software vendors to develop one of the first anti-virus software certification schemes. Over the past decade, the organization added certification programs for other security-related products, and changed its name to ICSA Labs. Operating as an independent division of

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

, ICSA Labs provides resources for research, intelligence, certification and testing of products, including anti-virus,

firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...

IPsec In computing, Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) is a secure network protocol suite that authenticates and encrypts packets of data to provide secure encrypted communication between two computers over an Internet Protocol network. It is used in ...

VPN A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The be ...

cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adver ...

, SSL VPN, network

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...

, anti-spyware and PC firewall products.

External links

* Computer security organizations Verizon Communications {{business-org-stub
Advanced Threat Defense Certification Testing Report.
Executed by:

Kaspersky Kaspersky Lab (; Russian: Лаборатория Касперского, tr. ''Laboratoriya Kasperskogo'') is a Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider headquartered in Moscow, Russia, and operated by a holding company in th ...