Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Davey Winder is a veteran cybersecurity writer, hacker and analyst. Update, Dec. 25, 2024: This story, originally published Dec.

The various versions of Windows have used Kerberos as its main authentication protocol for over 20 years. However, in certain circumstances, the OS has to use another method, NTLM (NT LAN Manager).

­Microsoft's Windows Hello for Business (WHfB) default phishing-resistant authentication model recently was found susceptible to downgrade attacks, allowing threat actors to crack into even ...