According to the latest update, Microsoft has made it official that the upcoming Windows 11 Dev Channel builds will be released without the file-sharing protocol SMB1.
This particular protocol has been around for 30 years and the Redmond-based giant has been outfitting it with updates and upgrades to fix its security vulnerabilities over the years.
However, with the upcoming updates set to be in motion, SMB1 will be deprecated from the systems as a whole.
Get Ready to Bid Goodbye to SMB1
Microsoft has been phasing out SMB1 protocol across several Windows 10 and Windows Server versions for a few years now. Now it will add Windows 11 dev channel builds into the list as well making it before proceeding to the remaining versions.
It is something that IT admins and infrastructure management personnel are already aware of so that’s not a question.
According to a 2016 Microsoft MS16-114 bulletin, the operating system giant found vulnerabilities with the protocol that can allow attackers to execute code and orchestrate direct denial of service (DDoS) attacks on the affected system.
The company has been asserting users to move away from SMB1 since 2016 and instead, use other protocols to carry out the same functions. Apart from that, US-CERT instructed users to disable SMB1 service via the Windows Features option as well as block network traffic from those specific ports using SMB1.
The legacy file-sharing protocol had suffered a lot of issues which is why it finally decided to move on and phase it out. Some of the horrific security laws are man-in-the-middle (MiTM), issues with the system messaging, and encryption among others.
However, the question is just how and when companies will start adopting other file sharing protocols instead of the now deprecating SMB1. It will not cost large organizations to adopt another service although it will be an issue for small organizations that may have constrained infrastructures and budgets.