AV-TEST Awards 2023: shining the spotlight on the best IT security

Non-stop attacks by ransomware, data stealers and co.

At the beginning of the year, few expected the number of attacks by ransomware, data stealers, Trojans and co., which was already very high in 2022, to increase even more in 2023. But this is indeed what happened, as is revealed by a glance at the figures of the AV-TEST statistics portal, AV-ATLAS: The sheer number of registered Windows malware samples grew from 696 to 852 million, an increase of more than 20 percent. Malware in the form of ransomware or a data stealer is usually the starting signal for large-scale blackmail attempts that can often result in companies rapidly facing six-figure ransom demands.

Security solutions for consumer users or companies need to be able to fend off an enormous number of threats stemming from the Internet, be it malware hidden on a website, concealed in an e-mail attachment or simply disguised as a harmless download. At the same time, vendors of security solutions also strive to ensure that their tools always detect malicious files but also recognize harmless files as such and leave them be.

Attackers are acting faster and cleverer than ever before

JIt is not only vendors that use state-of-the-art technologies to detect and fend off malware. Attacking cyber gangsters and APT groups are now also using a multitude of advanced tools such as artificial intelligence. Phishing mails, for example, are becoming increasingly perfect in all languages and are therefore more difficult to distinguish from normal e-mails. Links or images used internally are also being heavily obfuscated or made unrecognizable, meaning that it is getting harder and harder for users to identify attacks. As a result, the workload facing a security solution is becoming increasingly challenging and in the future, such solutions will be expected to master even more defense aspects to provide full protection for users. This is such a tough task that it sounds almost impossible. Thankfully, however, this is not the case, as proven by the many tests conducted in the AV-TEST labs.

In 2023, the experts at AV-TEST ran more than 550 individual product tests on Windows, MacOS and Android operating systems. When doing so, they differentiated between products for consumer users and solutions for corporate users. The results of the tests show that vendors spend a lot of time on and put a great deal of effort into developing their products. After all, without such dedication, they would hardly be able to fend off the usually more than 10,000 current attackers in the Protection test category, not to mention doing so several times a year with constantly changing test sets full of the latest malware. The results of the complex tests performed by AV-TEST not only confirm the success of the vendors’ efforts but also provide quality assurance from an independent source. After all, only products that pass these tests are awarded certificates for tested security in recognition of their strong performance.

Double the celebrations with an anniversary and awards

While looking back on a successful company history, the AV-TEST Institute also always focuses on the present, as well as considering what the future holds. Fittingly, the team of the AV-TEST Institute is celebrating its 20th anniversary alongside this year’s award ceremony, where it will honor many long-standing companions in the fight against malware among its award-winning guests.

The AV-TEST specialists are well aware of the developments that attackers have redefined time and time again with their malware and tricks over the past twenty years. Ever since it was first founded, the institute’s team of experts has been collecting malware online and from e-mails to evaluate and catalogue it with its own scan engine. The institute’s own databases have filled up over the years and now contain information on nearly one billion malware samples, all of which are also stored individually deep underground.

When it comes to security, the laboratories have examined products from more than 100 different vendors over the past 20 years and have therefore saved more than 4,100 conducted tests in their database. In addition to the classic tests, the Advanced Threat Protection test has also established itself as an advanced security examination, and the institute is also already certifying the security performance of IoT devices on its own platform. Both of these test areas are sure to continue to play an integral role in the future.

33 awards will be presented to the products of 14 different vendors

Determining the recipients of the AV-TEST Awards was actually rather easy for the testers given that the manufacturers and their products had already established the facts in the tests. Ultimately, however, the decision was not based on one single successful test day but on the evaluation of all the results achieved in a test category throughout the entire year. The products tested are always examined and evaluated on all platforms, namely Windows, MacOS and Android, in the three categories of Protection, Performance and Usability.

Each examination is carried out separately for consumer users and corporate users, although only products for consumer users are tested under Android. For the platforms Android and MacOS, the lab does not divide its Best Android Security and Best MacOS Security Awards into categories but instead only differentiates between different groups of users. The awards for Windows systems are available in each individual test category.

Special attention is paid to the test category of Advanced Protection under Windows. In the advanced tests, all security products must detect malware such as ransomware and data stealers in ten realistic scenarios. Some products may not be able to do so immediately, but in such cases, the solutions also use EDR and other security techniques to fend off attackers further down the line – or maybe not. These tests require a great deal of time and effort, and AV-TEST presents the successful products with the special award in the category of Advanced Protection.

And now, without further ado, it is time to welcome the start of the gala and the presentation of the 33 AV-TEST Awards to 14 vendors! The entire AV-TEST team would like to congratulate all award-winners on their achievements in recognition of the hard work carried out by all of the vendors’ development teams.