The testing, which began in May 2026, required vendors to maintain a 92 percent efficacy rate across the entire attack lifecycle—from initial phishing entry to final data exfiltration. This year’s assessment marked a significant escalation in difficulty, as researchers utilized AI-assisted development techniques to mirror real-world adversary tactics. By aligning scenarios with the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix for Enterprise, the lab simulated the fluid, automated nature of modern breaches.

Bitdefender, Broadcom, Check Point, Elastic, ESET, Fortinet, G Data, Palo Alto Networks, TrendAI, VIPRE, and WithSecure secured the Certified Leader designation. Three participating vendors failed to meet the rigorous performance standard. Andreas Clementi, CEO of AV-Comparatives, noted that while the industry has utilized machine learning for two decades, the current shift toward AI-born tooling demands a new level of defensive precision. The results confirm that current top-tier enterprise suites remain effective even when facing automated, machine-driven attack vectors.