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The Solution was One of Two Internet Security Suites to Pass All Stages of the MRG Effitas Online Banking Browser Security Assessment

Woburn, MA – December 30, 2014 – Kaspersky Lab today announces that Kaspersky Internet Security 2015, equipped with Safe Money technology, received an MRG Effitas certification as a top solution that provides highly effective protection for online transactions. The solution was one of two Internet security suites to pass all three stages of the MRG Effitas Online Banking Browser Security assessment conducted in Q3 2014.

As in the previous assessment, which was conducted in Q2 2014, security solutions were tested in three phases. However, this time MRG Effitas used an improved methodology. In particular the test for protection against Man-in-the-Middle attacks (i.e., interfering with the data transmission protocol in order to distort data) was removed. Instead the independent laboratory assessed the quality of protection against API Hooking attacks, which involve injecting malicious code into the browser’s process and then redirecting API calls in order to intercept confidential information and redirect it to the attacker. Since the programs used in the tests were not samples of widespread malware, they were unknown to any of the security solutions. The purpose of the test, therefore, was to measure the solution’s ability to protect against so-called zero day threats. Kaspersky Internet Security successfully blocked all four attempts to inject malicious code into the browser protected by the solution.

The remaining two testing phases assessed how well the solutions could protect against widespread malware capable of stealing banking credentials or interfering with the process of exchanging information with online payment services, and a modern-botnet test. In the first phase, the solutions needed to detect 406 malicious programs that were widely distributed by cybercriminals at the time of testing; the Kaspersky Lab solutoin successfully detected and blocked all of these malicious programs. The second phase was carried out on systems infected using files containing Trojan programs (‘droppers’) for the most widespread botnets. The botnets’ C&C servers were configured within the test lab’s infrastructure, enabling researchers to determine immediately whether the malware was able to steal financial credentials or not. Kaspersky Internet Security effectively blocked this threat as well, preventing a data leak.

As a result, Kaspersky Internet Security 2015 demonstrated its reliability as a security solution and was awarded a certificate from MRG Effitas. Overall, out of the 17 solutions participating in the assessment, Kaspersky Internet Security was one of four products that were able to protect the user against all banking cyberthreats. Of the four, it was also one of only two that were full-scale Internet security solutions, while the others were highly specialized applications designed to protect online payments.

“Online payment services are of special interest to cybercriminals, since interfering with the exchange of information between a service and its customers could open up access to client accounts for the attackers. This is why Kaspersky Lab regards protecting users from financial cyber threats as one of its most important goals. Testing results confirm that Kaspersky Lab technologies, primarily Safe Money, are able to provide effective protection against the latest threats while working with online banking systems,” commented Timur Biyachuev, Director Anti-Malware Research at Kaspersky Lab.

The Safe Money technology used in Kaspersky Internet Security protects online transactions by matching a payment site’s address to a cloud database, confirming the authenticity of the security certificate, isolating the browser from any attempts to inject malicious code and preventing screenshots from being taken. More information about the principles upon which the technology is based can be found in this whitepaper.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is the world’s largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world’s top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its more than 17-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

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Media Contact
Sarah Bergeron 
781.503.2615
sarah.bergeron@kaspersky.com

* The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2013. The rating was published in the IDC report "Worldwide Endpoint Security 2014–2018 Forecast and 2013 Vendor Shares (IDC #250210, August 2014). The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2013.

Kaspersky Internet Security Receives Top Certification for Online Transaction Protection by MRG Effitas

Kaspersky Internet Security Receives Top Certification for Online Transaction Protection by MRG Effitas
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