Microsoft has detailed a structured, three-phase roadmap to gradually retire New Technology LAN Manager (NTLM), reinforcing its broader push toward more secure, Kerberos-based authentication within Windows environments.
The announcement follows Microsoft’s earlier decision to deprecate NTLM, a legacy authentication mechanism that has long been criticized for its security shortcomings. Officially deprecated in June 2024, NTLM no longer receives updates, as its design leaves systems vulnerable to relay attacks and unauthorized access.
“NTLM consists of security protocols originally designed to provide authentication, integrity, and confidentiality to users,” Mariam Gewida, Technical Program Manager II at Microsoft, explained. “However, as security threats have evolved, so have our standards to meet modern security expectations. Today, NTLM is susceptible to various attacks, including replay and man-in-the-middle attacks, due to its use of weak cryptography.”
Despite its deprecated status, Microsoft acknowledged that NTLM remains widely used across enterprise networks. This is largely due to legacy applications, infrastructure constraints, and deeply embedded authentication logic that make migration difficult. Continued reliance on NTLM increases exposure to threats such as replay, relay, and pass-the-hash attacks.
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