VirusTotal Simplifies User Options With Platform Access and New Contributor Model

VirusTotal has announced significant changes to its platform access and pricing structure. These updates are designed to enhance accessibility and reinforce its role as a collaborative platform within the global cybersecurity community.

The initiative, as outlined in a recent announcement, aims to streamline user options while maintaining VirusTotal’s commitment to openness and collaboration. The changes are part of an evolution within Google's security ecosystem, which now includes the integrated Google Threat Intelligence (GTI) platform.

VirusTotal is focusing on three primary objectives: maintaining the platform's openness, providing a sustainable framework for contributors, and improving access for academics and researchers.

While GTI, combining VirusTotal, Mandiant, and Google resources, offers advanced intelligence for enterprises, VirusTotal will continue to be the community-driven foundation for threat sharing and analysis. This dual approach allows VirusTotal to serve its core user base while integrating its data into Google's broader enterprise offerings.

The announcement introduces simplified pricing and new access tiers to accommodate a diverse range of users, from individual researchers to large organizations.

A notable addition is the VT Contributor tier, designed for technology partners who integrate their detection engines with the platform. This tier provides free access to feeds of their blind spots, priority support, and early access to new features. The other tiers include:

VT Community: A free tier for individual researchers, academics, and educators, offering file and URL scanning , public API access, and community features. VT Lite: Targeted at small teams, startups, and small MSSPs for non-commercial use, providing advanced search, YARA hunting, and private scanning capabilities, with pricing starting from $5,000 for low API volumes. VT Duet: Designed for large organizations, offering the full feature set with a high API quota.

VirusTotal has reaffirmed its commitment from 2016 that security vendors not contributing detections will not be included in these new tiers. This decision emphasizes the company's focus on fostering a healthy community where participation and contribution are highly valued.

Organizations are encouraged to become contributors and join VirusTotal's mission of safeguarding the digital commons. This evolution ensures that VirusTotal remains a transparent, collaborative hub for global threat intelligence, reinforcing its foundational role in the cybersecurity landscape.

Based on reporting by Cyber Security News.