NSS Labs Shuttered The testing firm's website says it has "ceased operations" as of Oct. 15 October 19, 2020 https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities---threats/nss-labs-shuttered/d/d-id/1339220
The COVID-19 bit was probably "the straw that broke the camel's back" for them. Their AV vendor test reports are very expensive and corps. have clamped down on discretionary spending like that. The beginning of the end for them was when they tangled with the major AV vendors and all the publicity from that. Prior to this was their testing shenanigans with Cylance. I also suspect that their CAWS real-time monitoring platform never caught on because like everything they offered service-wise, it was not realistic priced.
NSS Labs' Abrupt Shutdown Leaves Many Unanswered Questions Former execs and employees share some insights into the testing firm's shutdown. What does it mean for the future of security product testing? November 5, 2020 https://www.darkreading.com/risk/ns...aves-many-unanswered-questions/d/d-id/1339380
I doubt it was arbitrary. IMO Mr. Brvenik was, himself, blindsided by (to us) undisclosed events, to the extent that he lacked meaningful options. It is a sad story -- all too often being repeated nowadays, with different scripts, perhaps.