ESET announced that its ESET PROTECT Elite cloud solution has passed AV-Comparatives’ rigorous Anti-Tampering Test, certifying its power to protect against tampering attacks that could result in permanent, temporary, partial or complete loss of product functionality.
Usually, once a cybercriminal compromises a network/machine, staying under the radar is mission critical. This is best achieved by eliminating endpoint security software, likely by using compromised credentials to access the network and then using legitimate tools as much as possible (living off the land). This is tampering, and it can lead to major security disasters if it is not protected against.
Regarding anti-tampering, ESET excelled in tests as far back as 2014 and 2015, when independent testing found ESET’s consumer offering 100% successful in preventing tampering attacks, a major milestone compared to the 32 other participating vendors. The same was confirmed in business products in 2023, when AV-Comparatives awarded ESET PROTECT Entry the highest degree of approval, affirming ESET’s continuous focus on products that are secure-by-design.
In testing this year, ESET PROTECT Elite received acclaim for its top-notch anti-tampering security, with AV-Comparatives highlighting its password protected settings as a very relevant functionality. Besides that, the solution excelled in mitigating against registry key, DLL, file system and even kernel driver manipulation, among others. This shows that our protection agent is qualified to defend against a vast array of attacks and techniques known to tamper with key processes. These anti-tampering capabilities are applied across all advanced ESET PROTECT tiers, including our XDR-enabling component, ESET Inspect.
”If a security tool can be tampered with, it’s not a security tool — it’s a vulnerability. At ESET, we take that principle seriously. We strive to deliver the highest level of protection, and anti-tampering has been one of our core defenses against hacking attempts for many years. In fact, it’s been over a decade since we pioneered several technologies specifically designed to safeguard our software from manipulation — making us one of the first vendors to do so. We’re proud that AV-Comparatives has recognized that our commitment to this crucial functionality remains strong and relevant,” said Zuzana Legáthová, Director of Test, Analyst Relations and Market Research.
For any endpoint security solution, independent testing done by analysts is how a product receives professional acclaim and certification proving its expert competence. With Anti-Tampering becoming increasingly relevant in view of novel sophisticated threats such as EDR killers, it’s crucial for any business to seek a solution that can fill security gaps that might not be so obvious, such as the integrity of the product itself.
