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For over three decades, it has been a silent pillar of the Windows ecosystem. Now, however, NTLM ‘s time seems definitively over. Microsoft has decided to initiate a profound transition that marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new, more secure authentication model.
NTLM, an acronym for New Technology LAN Manager, was born in 1993 as one of the first password-based authentication systems developed by Microsoft . At the time, it represented an effective solution, but the security context was radically different from today.
Its operation, based on the exchange of credentials, makes it vulnerable today. Like a password intercepted during a conversation, NTLM can be forced or falsified with relative ease by increasingly sophisticated malicious actors. Over time, this structural weakness has become a systemic problem, especially in complex and interconnected enterprise environments.
Attackers often exploit NTLM relay attacks, tricking legitimate devices into authenticating against attacker-controlled servers. This results in privilege escalation and, in many cases, complete control of Windows domains.
Added to this are pass-the-hash techniques, which allow stealing NTLM hashes to impersonate legitimate users, steal sensitive data, and move laterally within corporate networks. Even with repeated patches, vulnerabilities like PetitPotam and ShadowCoerce have demonstrated that NTLM-based defenses can still be circumvented.
Kerberos represents Microsoft’s modern alternative. The protocol uses a trusted third party to issue temporary tickets, which are much harder to spoof than simple passwords. The first phase of the plan has already begun, with advanced NTLM auditing tools introduced in Windows Server 2020 and Windows 11 24H2. These allow administrators to precisely map the dependencies still tied to NTLM.
Features such as IAKerb and Local KDC, designed to handle complex scenarios such as local accounts and domain controllers with limited connectivity, will arrive in the second half of 2026. The final step involves disabling Network NTLM by default in the next major release of Windows Server, while still allowing for manual re-enabling via policy.
The research and announcement were published by Microsoft in an official blog post, which details the entire migration journey and operational recommendations for organizations.
This transition is not just a technical upgrade, but a shift in mentality: security can no longer rest on foundations born in another era.
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