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The Growing Need for Reliable Security Testing

As cyberattacks continue to pose significant challenges even for the most resilient organizations, the demand for trustworthy, transparent, and well-documented security testing has reached critical levels. In light of this, AV-Comparatives, an independent testing laboratory known for its meticulous methodologies, has recently revealed important findings from its 2025 Endpoint Prevention and Response (EPR) test as well as its Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) validation test. These reports provide key insights that organizations need in today’s complex security landscape.

The Case for Transparency

The foundation of trust in security testing lies in transparency. AV-Comparatives has made it a point to publicly share the full methodology, the scenarios tested, and the analysis of how each product performed during their EPR and EDR tests. This level of openness allows companies to critically assess how the products were evaluated and understand the rationale behind specific results.

You can view the full details of the EPR test here and the EDR validation here. By openly sharing these documents, AV-Comparatives empowers security leaders and analysts to independently interpret the findings without relying on obscure summaries or selective reporting.

The Importance of Comparability

CISOs and security operations center (SOC) leaders face a significant challenge when it comes to fairly comparing different endpoint security products. Many evaluations lack consistent standards or fail to provide context for the techniques tested in real-world intrusion scenarios.

To address this, AV-Comparatives has utilized comprehensive attack simulations that adhere to the MITRE ATT&CK framework. This ensures that all vendors are subjected to the same attack sequences, operational constraints, and scoring models. The outcome is a genuinely comparable view, helping organizations understand not just whether a technique was detected, but also how each product would perform in realistic attack conditions. This level of comparability is vital for the selection, implementation, and continual improvement of enterprise defense strategies.

Reliability: Focused on Real-World Conditions

The 2025 EPR Test assessed the resilience of 50 multi-stage attacks that ranged from initial vulnerability to lateral movement, credential theft, command and control, exfiltration, and overall impact. In this evaluation, both active blocking and passive detection modes were assessed, and the operational accuracy and cost model for a hypothetical environment with 5,000 endpoints were analyzed.

Simultaneously, the EDR Validation Test focused on assessing visibility and the quality of detection with prevention measures turned off. This determined whether SOC teams would obtain consistent and actionable telemetry throughout all stages of a complex intrusion. Notably, seven leading enterprise solutions participated in this test; five of them met the certification requirements.

Among the recognized names were Bitdefender, Check Point, CrowdStrike, Elastic, ESET, Fortinet, G DATA, Kaspersky, Palo Alto Networks, VIPRE, along with two other anonymous vendors that did not pass certification in this round.

In both reports, the consistent emphasis on real threats, realistic sequences, and actual results upholds AV-Comparatives’ reputation as a trusted source referenced by corporations, analysts, research institutions, and global media.

Clarity in Communication

Even the most precise technical findings lose value if not communicated clearly. The reports from AV-Comparatives are structured to be informative not only for analysts but also for executives responsible for cybersecurity investment and risk management. Each report details step-by-step attack flows, product reactions, and concise summaries crafted to facilitate informed decision-making. This clarity is essential to bridge the gap between technical details and strategic action, unearthed from the complexities of modern cybersecurity operations.

Commitment to the Global Cybersecurity Community

With over 20 years of experience in independent testing, AV-Comparatives remains dedicated to delivering meaningful, openly documented assessments. Their 2025 reports reflect this mission to provide the global cybersecurity community with accurate, understandable, and comparable results. Organizations need more than partial snapshots or isolated detections; they require comprehensive context that mirrors the current threat landscape.

A Message from AV-Comparatives' CEO Andreas Clementi

"Security leaders face enormous pressure to select the right technologies in an environment flooded with complexity. Transparency, comparability, and clarity are essential. Our 2025 enterprise reports underscore our commitment to providing realistic, openly documented testing that helps organizations understand how solutions perform in practice—not just in theory."

In conclusion, AV-Comparatives continues to offer valuable insight year after year in EDR, EPR, endpoint protection, and other enterprise-focused evaluations. This commitment is crucial for helping organizations navigate the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity threats efficiently and effectively.