Security researchers urge Microsoft to keep EMET alive

Microsoft recently announced it would phase out support for its Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) in July 2018. EMET adds extra security to Windows by providing a number of security features on top of those integrated into the operating system.

Because of a lot of EMET's security feature are now native in Windows 10, Microsoft argues it no longer sees a purpose for EMET because a native, evolving solution offers better protection than a system run on top of the operating system.

Security researchers from Carnegie Mellon University CERT do not agree with this assessment and urge Microsoft to keep EMET alive, claiming the real value of EMET is because if forces programs to use security features. CERT's Will Dormann argues that a Windows 7 configuration with EMET can be more secure than Windows 10 without EMET:

Dormann explains that even a Windows 7 machine running EMET can be more secure than a standard Windows 10 system, because the security tool gives users control over which security protocols get forced on apps.

Though Dormann admits that Windows 10 is a step forward in terms of security, he mentions that all the new security features bakes into the OS become useless if apps and programs aren’t coded to take advantage of them. It was here where EMET showed its worth, by forcing programs to run more securely.

Via: Neowin