Major cyber security vendors support new testing model

LONDON, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SE LABS®, the cyber security testing authority, has announced the first public evaluation under its PIVOT advanced security testing programme, with participation from major vendors including Broadcom, CrowdStrike, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and Sophos. The results of this initiative will be disclosed in early 2027, marking a significant development in the landscape of independent enterprise security testing.

The evaluation arrives amidst notable changes in the sector, as several leading vendors have recently withdrawn from the MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK Evaluations. This shift has diminished the volume of prominent products undergoing what has become a key source of technical evaluation data within the industry. In response, PIVOT adopts a novel methodology that goes beyond merely demonstrating what a product has detected. It aims to illustrate what transpires during an attack, how far an attacker could progress, the visibility and understanding available to defenders, and how these results stack up against competing solutions.

For enterprise buyers, PIVOT does not propose to replace individual judgement, proof of concept, or existing procurement channels. Instead, it seeks to furnish superior independent evidence to inform their decision-making processes. By tracing comprehensive attack chains, PIVOT identifies areas of protection that succeeded or failed, offering insights into the capabilities of the security products assessed. This allows users to differentiate between those that simply recognise malicious activity and those that are effective in interrupting attacks before significant harm can occur or those that, despite detecting an intrusion, permit an attacker to escalate privileges or advance within an environment.

Additionally, the evaluation scrutinises the information available to security teams during and after an attack. SE Labs assesses the context provided to defenders, including whether the product presents sufficient detail to comprehend the situation and pursue investigations following the attempted breach. "Independent security testing shouldn't stop at showing what happened. It should help buyers understand what it means," states Simon Edwards, CEO and founder of SE Labs. He further emphasises, "We don't ask CISOs to choose between believing SE Labs and believing the vendors. We make the underlying evidence available to Gartner and Forrester, so their analysts can examine it and add their own independent interpretation." PIVOT is crafted to deliver meaningful comparisons for security leaders without requiring them to trust the conclusions drawn by SE Labs.

The initial public PIVOT results will be shared in early 2027 and will include a comparative analysis of the participating products, presenting detailed findings from the attack scenarios and the inaugural public PIVOT Rankings of SE Labs. For over three decades, SE Labs has established itself as a trusted authority in cyber security testing, offering impartial and expert insights that validate the effectiveness of products protecting individuals and businesses online.