ICSA Labs Turns 20!

SAN FRANCISCO - ICSA Labs has seen a lot since opening its doors 20 years ago - from the creation of the commercial Internet to the dot-com bubble and bust to the game-changing consolidations, mergers and acquisitions that followed.  Through it all, ICSA Labs - now an independent division of Verizon Business, a leader in security - has remained one of the oldest and most-trusted testing and certification organizations for many of the world's top security product vendors.

"It's been an amazing journey to watch ICSA Labs grow up over the last 20 years, along with the overall global information security industry," said George Japak, managing director, ICSA Labs.  "While we've grown from a small operation with a U.S. focus to a global organization that serves hundreds of customers in 27 countries, our mission remains the same: being the security industry's central authority for research, intelligence and certification testing of security products."

At the RSA Conference at the Moscone Center here April 20-24, ICSA Labs (located in the Verizon Business booth, # 1837) is both celebrating its 20th anniversary and highlighting its leading global capabilities.  Since its founding in 1989, ICSA Labs has performed rigorous vendor-neutral testing and certification for hundreds of products.  Its customers rely on it to set and apply objective testing and certification criteria for measuring product compliance and reliability, enabling the products to earn the ICSA Labs' prestigious seal of approval, which represents the industry benchmark for security.

A few of ICSA Labs' many milestones are reflected below.

• 1989: National Computer Security Association (NCSA) - the original name for ICSA Labs - is founded and quickly begins to advance the developing field of information security. 

• 1991: NCSA forms the Anti-Virus Product Developers' Consortium, aimed at educating the market about computer viruses and available solutions, as well as improving products.  The same year, NCSA convenes the Anti-Virus Developers Conference.
• 1992: NCSA announces its first certified anti-virus products.  The same year, the World Wide Web is officially created. 
• 1993: NCSA sponsors National Computer Virus Awareness Day, which draws enthusiastic support from President Clinton's administration.
• 1995: NCSA starts testing network firewalls.  Additionally, NCSA creates the first Firewall Product Developers' Consortium, providing a forum for developers of competing firewall products to work toward common goals to benefit members and customers.  Since then, the consortium has become an international group dedicated to collectively working to advance firewall technology.
• 1996: NCSA certifies its first round of firewall products.
• 1997: NCSA changes its name to ICSA Labs in recognition of its global business, and begins testing products internationally.  The same year, the company begins offering certification testing for cryptography products.  The company also debuts Information Security magazine, which remains one of the most-read information security publications today.
• 1998: ICSA Labs launches 1st Corporate Risk Management Program, which later evolves into the company, TruSecure.  The company also begins testing biometric and IPSec VPN (Internet protocol security virtual private network) products.
• 1999: The Melissa virus infects 1,205,000 computers and 53,000 servers.  ICSA Labs successfully conducts research to track the spread of the virus and its impact on enterprise users.  Also in 1999, ICSA Labs launches testing for intrusion detection systems (IDS).
• 2000: In response to the "I Love You" virus, ICSA Labs issues an Emergency Virus Alert - complete with recommendations to protect systems - to customers, calling it the most pervasive and damaging virus in history.  Later that year, Dr. Peter Tippett, then chief technology officer, discusses the virus in testimony before a hearing on computer viruses held by the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Technology.

Also in 2000, ICSA Labs acquires NTBugTraq, an online anti-virus and vulnerability forum, and begins formally testing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) products.  ICSA Labs becomes an independent division of TruSecure Corp., which offers products and services designed to help companies determine how vulnerable their networks are to new security threats.

• 2001: ICSA Labs begins testing personal computer firewalls.

• 2002: ICSA Labs relocates to Mechanicsburg, Pa., to accommodate growth.  The same year, ICSA Labs acquires the WildList Organization, a leading source of information on which viruses are spreading "in the wild."
• 2003: ICSA Labs launches its testing program for SSL VPN (secure sockets layer) products.  The same year, it sells Information Security magazine to TechTarget.
• 2004: TruSecure merges with Betrusted and Ubizen to form Cybertrust, a pure-play provider of information security.  ICSA Labs becomes an independent division of Cybertrust.  It also establishes a testing program for the wireless LAN standard, IEEE 802.11.
• 2005: ICSA Labs earns ISO 9001:2000 Certification, becoming the first commercial security certification and testing lab to become ISO certified.  It continues to launch new testing programs, this time for network intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and anti-spyware.
• 2006: The company begins formally testing anti-spam and Web application firewalls.  The same year, ICSA Labs works together with McAfee, Symantec Corp., Trend Micro Inc. and Thompson Cyber Security Labs to establish a comprehensive industry standard and testing methodology for spyware.
• 2007: Verizon Business acquires Cybertrust and ICSA Labs.  Continuing its tradition of testing hot new security products, ICSA Labs begins certifying SSL-TLS VPN (secure sockets layer- transport layer security virtual private network) products.

"For two decades ICSA Labs has set the gold standard as one of the security industry's most trusted certification and testing organizations," said Candace Worley, vice president, McAfee, the world's largest dedicated security technology company.  "ICSA Labs is well-positioned to continue to help vendors develop the safest, most efficient products to combat existing and emerging Internet security threats."

About ICSA Labs
ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon Business, offers vendor-neutral testing and certification of security products.  Many of the world's top security vendors submit their products for testing and certification at ICSA Labs.  Businesses rely on ICSA Labs to authoritatively set and apply objective testing and certification criteria for measuring product compliance and reliability. For more information about ICSA Labs, please visit: http://www.icsalabs.com.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with the world's most connected IP network to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securely connect today's extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees - enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment.  Many of the world's largest businesses and governments - including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions - rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com.

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