In the past I have worked as a consultant for them, working on test criteria and certification descriptions. I did not develop this program with them. I have the opportunity, as I teach at various computer and security venues, to discuss security product testing and certification with many different people. While most of us want to use tested and proven products, many of us are willing to use untested or uncertified products. But there are ways There are four types of certification, and they are based on who does the certifying.
Most vendors do some sort of product certification before shipping their product.
Of course, we have no way of knowing whether a vendor has the expertise to produce a security product, let alone test it. Also, the vendor has an investment in the outcome of the tests. Even a vendor with the highest integrity has to fight the subconscious push to have a product pass the vendor's tests and start shipping. This simply means certification by other consumers. This is the most common type of computer software certification and often the safest.