- About AMTSO
The Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO) is an international non-profit association that focuses on addressing the global need for improvement in the objectivity, quality and relevance of anti-malware testing methodologies.
- Our members
AMTSO is a member-driven organization, and all our activities are directed and steered by our members.
Members contribute to AMTSO through participation in discussions at our regular in-person meetings, and on our member mailing list and member website. Our Board of Directors is elected by and from the membership, and the Executive Team comprises mainly member volunteers.
- AMTSO team
AMTSO’s executive team drives the day-to-day operation of the organization. Comprised mainly of volunteers, the team is supported by paid contractors.
Dennis Batchelder
PRESIDENT AND CEO
Before Microsoft, Dennis ran the threat and security information management product lines as an SVP of Computer Associates, which he joined after founding, running, and selling them a network security product company.
He’s got a business and computer science degree, and he’s the author of the Soul Identity series of novels. He took on the role of AMTSO President in 2016.
Alexander Vukcevic
CTO
Alex started his career in 2000 at Avira as a researcher, building up an international team of Threat Researchers and helping to enhance Avira’s own in-house protection technology. For the past 6 years, Alex has been managing the external testing processes at Avira, working closely with the testers in relation to all Avira endpoint protection products, and supporting OEM partners in their integration scenarios.
He has also taken opportunities for public speaking in conferences, workshops and press interviews. Alex is the Avira representative within AMTSO and has been actively involved in the RTTL and USC working groups over the past several years. Alex was elected to the AMTSO Board in July 2020, and was appointed CTO in August 2020.
Marina Ziegler
CMO
Marina previously also worked at digital technology PR agency LEWIS PR for over seven years, where she was first based in Munich, San Francisco and later Frankfurt, managing accounts in the B2B and B2C, as well as hardware and software space, including cybersecurity companies such as Sophos, Avira, Utimaco, and TC TrustCenter. Marina has a degree in communications. She joined AMTSO as CMO in August 2020.
David Ellis
CFO
David’s focus is a programmatic approach to improving anti-malware and cybersecurity products and technologies, with an emphasis on the cloud and remote work environments.
David joined the AMTSO Board of Directors in 2021, and took on the CFO role in 2023.
John Hawes
COO and Company Secretary
John has been active in AMTSO since its foundation in 2008. He joined the Board of Directors in 2011, serving as Chair in 2015-16.
In 2017 he left VB to become a director and consultant at Tick Tock Social ltd. He currently contracts for AMTSO, serving as both COO and Company Secretary. Outside of testing, John writes and blogs on security-related matters, including spells as a regular contributor to Naked Security, Payment Source and other outlets.
Scott Jeffreys
Standards PM
As Chief Technology Officer for Total Defense, Incorporated, Mr. Jeffreys led the push into cloud defined security products including cloud scanning technologies deployed for Consumer and Mobile (IoT) users.During his tenure as Vice President, Research and Development, with Computer Associates, he led the development of new protection and firewall technologies leading to the growth of a $120 million annual security sector.
During a twenty-year career with Reuters Information Technology, Mr. Jeffreys led the definition, development, and delivery of industry leading technologies for Real-Time Data Distribution, Equity and Forex Trading Platforms, and Financial Workstations.
Mr. Jeffreys joined the Computer Science faculty at New York’s Hofstra University in 2015 as an Associate Professor (adjunct) teaching courses in Software Engineering, Project Management, Computational Finance, and Discrete Structures. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Hofstra University (1982) with a major in Mathematics and dual minor degrees in Computer Science and Economics. His Master’s Degree in Mathematics was conferred by Adelphi University (1984). Mr. Jeffreys was a member of the Hofstra Collect Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board from 2010-2015. His research interests include Enterprise Architecture, Security Software and Protection Techniques, Computational Finance, and Mathematical Problems in Computer Science. His most recent publication, “Betting on Security”, examined the emerging fantasy sports betting world and the value of Big Data analysis which was not available to the general public.
Luis Corrons
Co-Chair
Luis has been always involved in malware investigations, such as the shutdown of the Mariposa botnet or the Operation Oil Tanker.
Luis is a top rated industry speaker, speaking at events like HackInTheBox, APWG, AVAR, Virus Bulletin, and Security BSides. In addition to being Avast’s Security Evangelist, Luis is a WildList reporter, member of the Board of Directors at AMTSO (Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization) and member of the Board of Directors at MUTE (Malicious URLs Tracking and Exchange).
Simon Edwards
Simon’s areas of expertise is anti-malware testing and he was, until the end of 2015, Technical Director of Dennis Technology Labs, an independent security testing business that was part of the Dennis Publishing media company. He then founded SE Labs, which specialises in advanced security testing. He also provides technical advice to a number of specialist security companies.
A founder member of the Anti Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), Simon was chairman of its Board of Directors between 2012 and 2015. He rejoined the Board in 2016, and resumed his role as chairman later the same year.
David Ellis
David’s focus is a programmatic approach to improving anti-malware and cybersecurity products and technologies, with an emphasis on the cloud and remote work environments.
David joined the AMTSO Board of Directors in 2021.
Vladislav Iliushin
Vladislav Iliushin is the co-founder of the ELLIO Technology, a company that focuses on filtering internet noise and reducing alert fatigue of security teams. Before that, he was the creator and the Lead of the IoT Lab during his tenure at Avast. Vlad is an experienced demo maker and presenter, speaking at conferences like SXSW, MWC, WebSummit, and Troopers, be it IoT Threats, Supply Chain Attacks or just showing students at CTU the practical side of the hacking. Vlad was elected to the AMTSO Board of Directors in 2022.
Jesse Song
Jesse has had more than 20 years of working experience in various positions in the fields of information security testing labs, information security industry, and academic institutions. He has been serving on the AVAR board since 2012.
Alexander Vukcevic
Alex started his career in 2000 at Avira as a researcher, building up an international team of Threat Researchers and helping to enhance Avira’s own in-house protection technology. For the past 6 years, Alex has been managing the external testing processes at Avira, working closely with the testers in relation to all Avira endpoint protection products, and supporting OEM partners in their integration scenarios.
He has also taken opportunities for public speaking in conferences, workshops and press interviews. Alex is the Avira representative within AMTSO and has been actively involved in the RTTL and USC working groups over the past several years. Alex was elected to the AMTSO Board in July 2020, and was appointed CTO in August 2020.
Jeffrey Wu
Jeffrey Wu has been in the IT security industry for more than 15 years and founded Testing Ground Labs in 2020.
TGLabs’ approach focuses on using industry best practices with academics know-how to offer a new approach to traditional testing methodologies.
Jeffrey joined the AMTSO Board in 2023.
Glaucia Young
Glaucia has worked for more than 21 years in the technology industry, holding various roles in testing/QA, software engineering, data engineering & science, and management in Microsoft US. She has been a member of the Board of Directors at AMTSO (Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization) for the last 3 years. She also serves in the CleanApps Advisory Board. In general, she wants to provide users and companies safe and productive computing experiences, and protect billions of people from malware, fraud, and privacy breaches.
A native of Brazil, Glaucia has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) and a Master’s degree from Universidade de Campinas (UNICAMP – São Paulo).
The AMTSO Advisory Board brings together experts from across security, testing and other relevant fields to provide AMTSO with advice, guidance and direction. The following people currently sit on the AMTSO Advisory Board:
Alex Eckelberry
Alex is a 30-year technology veteran with a broad range of experience in technology leadership and development. Currently the COO of automotive tech leader AutoLoop, he was previously founder and CEO of Meros (acquired by DXC); president of GFI Security and CEO of Sunbelt Software (now ThreatTrack Security).
He has also had stints with Borland International, Quarterdeck Corporation (now Symantec), and Kroll Ontrack. Alex also spent several years working in private equity at Bulldog Capital Management (now part of Monitor Deloitte), where he invested in a wide range of technology companies.
Alex is a board member of Malwarebytes; a board member of Knowbe4; executive chairman of Runaware Holdings AB; and is a past board member of the Google/Harvard joint venture, StopBadware; and a past board member of BlueStripe Software, now part of Microsoft.
Marcus Pritsch
Stiftung Warentest is a German consumer organization that has been performing independent consumer tests using scientific methods since 1966. In cooperation with ICRT (International Consumer Research and Testing Organisation), Marcus was the supervisor project leader in the field of cybersecurity and privacy for a large number of consumers organisations worldwide. He has tested more than 1500 products. Tests were published in more than 20 countries.
Marcus left Stiftung Warentest in 2020 and works as a CIO in a German federal government agency in Saxony-Anhalt. Marcus is also a member of ANEC. In this capacity, he represents consumer at the national and international standardization levels at ISO, CENELEC, CEN, ETSI, DIN and DKE. Television and radio stations regularly use his technical knowledge as an expert.
Neil Rubenking
In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted by readers. By 1990, he had become PC Magazine’s technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His “User to User” column supplied readers with tips and solutions on using DOS and Windows, his technical columns clarified fine points in programming and operating systems, and his utility articles (over forty of them) provided both useful programs and examples of programming in Pascal, Visual Basic, and Delphi.
Mr. Rubenking has also written seven books on DOS, Windows, and Pascal/Delphi programming, including PC Magazine DOS Batch File Lab Notes and the popular Delphi Programming for Dummies. In his current position as a PC Magazine Lead Analyst he evaluates and reports on security solutions such as firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, ransomware protection, and full security suites.
- FAQs
What is AMTSO?
AMTSO is a community of over 60 member organizations, comprising security vendors and expert test labs from around the world.
Active since 2008, AMTSO aims to drive improvement in all forms of testing of anti-malware and related security solutions.
We achieve this through regular member meetings and active online collaboration, bringing testers and vendors together to share their experiences and ideas.
What does AMTSO do?
AMTSO develops standards and guidelines for anti-malware testing, providing advice and guidance to the expert testers among our membership and to others starting out in testing.
AMTSO brings together its members to discuss important issues facing testers and vendors alike. In-person meetings and active online discussion forums help our members learn from each other.
AMTSO builds and hosts tools for both expert testers and everyday consumers.
What services are provided by AMTSO?
AMTSO develops and maintains the Testing Protocol Standard, a framework for fair, open and trustworthy testing of security solutions. We publish details of all tests following the Standard.
We also develop and publish detailed guidelines and best practices documents covering various important issues in testing.
We operate free tools for users to check their security products are properly configured – the AMTSO Security Features Check (SFC).
Who runs AMTSO?
AMTSO’s activities are overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors, elected by and from the AMTSO membership. An Executive Team combining volunteers and paid professionals carries out the day-to-day running of the organization.
Major issues are frequently referred to the membership for approval by vote. AMTSO also has an Advisory Board of trusted industry experts.
You can find more details about the team behind AMTSO above.
What is AMTSO membership?
AMTSO currently has over 60 members from across the security and testing industries.
We hold regular meetings in locations around the globe to debate the latest issues facing both testers and developers of security products. We host a members-only website, and run mailing lists and several active working groups where ongoing projects and breaking topics are discussed.
We also maintain the Real Time Threat List (RTTL), a live feed of the latest and most prevalent malware samples with attached telemetry data to allow for focused testing.
How can I become an AMTSO member?
AMTSO membership is open to academics, reviewers, publications, testers and vendors, subject to guidelines determined by AMTSO.
We welcome any company or individual with an interest in improving testing of security products.
You can find more information on joining AMTSO on our joining page.
How can I check if my vendor is an AMTSO member?
Details of our members can be found on our list of member organizations. Many of our members highlight their membership by posting our member logo on their websites.
How do I contact AMTSO?
You can find all our contact information on our Contact page.
Additional information for press is available on our Press page.
What sort of organization is AMTSO?
AMTSO is a mutual benefit non-profit organization, incorporated in California as a 501(c)(6) class corporation.
AMTSO was founded in 2008 to improve the business conditions related to the development, use, testing and rating of anti-malware products and solutions. Any individual or entity that is genuinely dedicated to the purposes of AMTSO is welcome to join the organization.
What is AMTSO's charter and mission?
AMTSO’s charter focuses on the following four areas:
- Providing a forum for discussions related to the testing of anti-malware and related products.
- Developing and publicizing objective standards and best practices for testing of anti-malware and related products.
- Promoting education and awareness of issues related to the testing of anti-malware and related products.
- Providing tools and resources to aid standards-based testing methodologies.
- Join AMTSO
Become a member
- Have your say on where testing, and technology, are heading
- Connect with a worldwide group of peers with a shared interest in better security
- Attend our meetings and events, and join our working groups to focus on the projects that matter most to you
