ATP test: Keeping data thieves and encryptors at bay

Attackers are constantly developing new tools and tactics in order to launch attacks on Windows systems. The actual attack generally takes place through ransomware or an infostealer. In our latest Advanced Threat Protection test – or ATP test, for short – the AV-TEST team checked whether security solutions for consumer users and corporate users are also prepared to defend against the most recent tactics used by cyberattackers. One type of attack is the deployment of malware in an executable file, disguised as a Python application. On the surface, they do not stand out because these types of data packages, generated by developers, can be found on the internet. However, many of the 20 security products tested are not deceived in the least. But still, some are.

Cyberattackers are very creative when it comes to finding ways to earn money from their exploits. Vendors of security products need to keep pace with this level of creativity. After all, the integrity of their customers’ data and systems are at stake. Sometimes the attacks involve malware that has hardly been changed. The attackers just inject it into files that look harmless and are found everywhere on the internet.

The strategy is straightforward. Where’s the best place to hide a tree: in the forest. And it is this principle that attackers also employ when they conceal malware as Python applications in executable files. Many developers use these types of files and distribute them online or on coding platforms for free, so the tactic does not stand out at all. […]

LINK: www.av-test.org/en/news/atp-test-keeping-data-thieves-and-encryptors-at-bay/

Here is an overview of the article: 

  • 20 security solutions in the ATP test
  • The 10 test scenarios
  • 11 consumer user packages in the ATP test
  • 9 corporate solutions put to the ATP test
  • Crucial takeaways for several of the test participants

Due to the size of the file, the full set of charts and results from this test-run are not attached, but you can download them from here (about 15 MB): www.av-test.org/fileadmin/Tests/Mediapacks/2026/AV-TEST_2026-02_Advanced_Threat_Protection_review_mediapack.zip

The attached data can be used to create at-a-glance overviews or statistics of the test results, starting immediately (there is no embargo).

You are free to use the results as a basis for your own reviews, as long as a reference to "AV-TEST Institute" – with an active link to our website:
www.av-test.org – is given as source. Thank you!

Please contact us if you have any questions. Press contact:

Erik Heyland, presse@av-test.com
Phone: +49 391 6075460

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Über die AV-TEST – SITS Deutschland GmbH

About the AV-TEST Institute

AV-TEST is an independent supplier of services in the fields of IT Security and Antivirus Research, focusing on the detection and analysis of the latest malicious software and its use in comprehensive comparative testing of security products.

Due to the timeliness of the testing data, malware can instantly be analyzed and categorized, trends within virus development can be detected early, and IT-security solutions can be tested and certified. The AV-TEST Institute’s results provide an exclusive basis of information helping vendors to optimize their products, special interest magazines to publish research data, and end users to make good product choices.

AV-TEST has operated out of Magdeburg (Germany) since 2004 and employs more than 30 team members, professionals with extensive practical experience. The AV-TEST laboratories include 500 client and server systems, where more than 3,500 terabyte of independently-collected test data, containing both malicious and harmless sample information, are stored and processed.

Firmenkontakt und Herausgeber der Meldung:

AV-TEST – SITS Deutschland GmbH
Klewitzstraße 7
39112 Magdeburg
Telefon: +49 391 6075460
https://www.av-test.org

Ansprechpartner:
Erik Heyland
E-Mail: presse@av-test.com
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