Windows 11 will get even tighter security in the future, according to recent comments from a Microsoft executive.
As you're likely aware, Windows 11 took a tougher line with security than Windows 10, focusing on security from the 'ground up' and notably bringing in the requirement for TPM (that means some PCs fail to qualify for the upgrade to the newer OS).
Microsoft intends to strengthen the defenses of future versions of Windows, though, as David Weston, vice president of Enterprise and OS Security at the company, made clear.
In a blog post, Weston commented: "Future releases of Windows 11 will continue to add significant security updates that add even more protection from the chip to the cloud by combining modern hardware and software. Windows 11 is a better way for everyone to collaborate, share, and present, all with the confidence of hardware-backed protections."
Could that be a hint that next-gen Windows - as in Windows 12, or whatever the operating system that succeeds Windows 11 ends up being called - might even push as far as to include Microsoft's latest security trick, Pluton?
Apparently not, because as Neowin - who spotted Microsoft's blog post - points out, earlier this year, the rumor mill floated the idea that it's still too early to make a Pluton security chip a compulsory part of the system spec. In theory, Windows 12 will stick with asking for TPM 2.0 as the central pillar of its hardware security requirements.
That is just a rumor, mind, so we must regard it cautiously - although it feels like Microsoft would be seriously pushing things to stipulate Pluton.
TPM has already been a difficult pill to swallow for some of those looking at Windows 11, and part of the slow adoption of the OS - it now lags considerably behind the market share achieved by Windows 10 at the same point in its history - is likely down to that requirement. And, of course, the ruling out of older CPUs, too.