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ALMOST A YEAR after the National Computer Security Association (NCSA) formed a consortium to develop a firewall testing methodology and create certification standards, the first round of testing has been completed and the second is about to begin. So far, sixteen products have met the consortium's standards, says Jon McCown, firewall test lab manager.
But not everyone is thrilled with the NCSA's self-appointment as certification authority. A cyberspace debate among subscribers to a firewalls mailing list has revealed some concerns about the consortium. Participants have questioned the $22,000 price tag to have a product evaluated$9,500 for the annual consortium membership fee and $12,500 in testing charges. Others have rushed to NCSA's defense, pointing out that Underwriters Laboratories charges for a similar function.
The opening salvo in the controversy was fired about a year ago by noted firewall expert Marcus Ranum, now a scientist with the network software company V-ONE (which is not a member of the consortium, though the vendor from which V-ONE licenses its...