McAfee, Inc. announced that the McAfee M-8000 Network Security Platform has received the prestigious NSS Labs Gold certification for Network intrusion prevention systems. The McAfee M-8000 is one of two IPS devices to have received a current NSS Gold certification in 2009.

The NSS Labs certification procedure is based on recurring monthly testing which measures an IPS device’s ability to adapt and defend against the latest threats. After 90 days of testing, the NSS Gold Certification is given to products that continue to prove their effectiveness against the newest threats. In January 2009, the M-8000 Network Security Platform was the first product to be awarded NSS Approved for 10 Gbit IPS Certification.

“After completing one quarter of Security Update Monitor testing, the McAfee Network Security Platform M-8000 appliance has become the first network IPS solution to receive the prestigious NSS Labs Gold Award for 10Gbit IPS,” said Rick Moy, president of NSS Labs. “Because of our focus on real-world use cases, NSS Labs’ certifications are an essential requirement for organizations seeking best-in-class security products.”

“At McAfee, protecting our customers is our most important responsibility. For network security, detection accuracy is the primary measure of that value,” said Rees Johnson, general manager and senior vice president of network IPS solutions for McAfee. “McAfee’s comprehensive threat research, the assessment capabilities of the McAfee Network Security Platform, and our relentless pursuit of perfect protection ensure that our customer’s networks are secure. NSS Labs Security Update Monitor testing provides our customers with confidence that they are protected.”

In Q2 2009, McAfee successfully passed ongoing Security Update Monitor testing, achieving 100% protection across a test set of 228 exploits. This ongoing testing augments the comprehensive analysis of the M-8000 performed earlier in January.