Windows 11 to Deprecate NTLM, Add AI-Powered App Controls and Security Defenses
May 21, 2024
Windows 11 Security
Microsoft on Monday confirmed its plans to deprecate NT LAN Manager (NTLM) in Windows 11 in the second half of the year, as it announced a slew of new security measures to harden the widely-used desktop operating system. "Deprecating NTLM has been a huge ask from our security community as it will strengthen user authentication, and deprecation is planned in the second half of 2024," the tech giant said . The Windows maker originally announced its decision to drop NTLM in favor of Kerberos for authentication in October 2023. NTLM's lack of support for cryptographic methods such as AES or SHA-256 notwithstanding, the protocol has also been rendered susceptible to relay attacks, a technique that has been widely exploited by the Russia-linked APT28 actor via zero-day flaws in Microsoft Outlook. Other changes coming to Windows 11 include enabling Local Security Authority (LSA) protection by default for new consumer devices and the use of virtualization-based secur
