Windows 10 is now more secure: KDP

If there is one aspect that worries us when we get hold of a device or install a new version of our operating system, it is the security that it can offer. As our lives increasingly depend on technology and our permanently connected gadgets store increasingly sensitive data, security has become a determining factor .

And that is why the latest movement that Microsoft is carrying out with Windows 10 is not surprising, its brand new operating system that almost two months ago received the last global update to date: Windows 10 May 2020 Update.The Redmond company is testing a new security functionality among those who are part of the Insider Program: they are shielding the kernel so that it can only be read and thus, a malware attack, you cannot overwrite it and therefore modify it.

Shielded Kernel, Secure Windows

But before continuing, clarify what the Kernel is. With this term, Kernel, we refer to the kernel of an operating system. The part that is in charge of carrying out all the secure communication between the software and the hardware of an electronic device. It is therefore the key, the most important part of the operating system and therefore the one that deserves the most protection.

Now, Microsoft is adding functionality KDP, which stands for Kernel Data Protection. A function that it does is harden the kernel of the operating systemFrom Microsoft they clarify that KDP works by providing developers with access to programmatic APIs that will allow them to designate parts of the Windows kernel as read-only sections.

This way the system that many attacks use to violate the operating system is avoided They use the access that certain files and drivers have to the kernel in order to access the base of the system, infect it with some type of malicious code and thus control our equipment. And that's what the KDP function wants to avoid.

Files with access to the kernel will continue to maintain it, but now they will only be able to read it and will not have write permissions To do this, what KDP does is to virtualize a part of the operating system thanks to VBS technology, something that requires the use of hardware and therefore compatible equipment to activate KDP.Currently, VBS is compatible with any computer that supports:

• Intel, AMD, or ARM Virtualization Extensions
• Second Level Address Translation: NPT for AMD, EPT for Intel, Stage 2 Address Translation for ARM
• Optionally, MBEC hardware, which reduces the cost of performance associated with HVCI

In addition, Microsoft states that KDP can also have other applications, such as its use in anti-cheat software or managing digital rights (DRM).

Right now, KDP is only available in builds released within the Insider Program, in the case of 20161 that we saw yesterday, and is hopes that it will reach stable versions of Windows 10 in the future.

Via | ZDNet More information | Microsoft