Mikhail Gellerman: Russian Customers Do Not Want to Depend on Changes in Windows Policy

Recent Microsoft decisions point to a broader direction for the Windows platform. The first major step was making TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) support a mandatory requirement for installing Windows 11. TPM 2.0 provides secure storage for cryptographic keys, verifies system boot integrity, and supports modern security mechanisms. In practice, that requirement effectively ended support for a significant share of older hardware and shifted Windows toward a model in which the ability to run the operating system depends on whether the underlying hardware meets the vendor's requirements.

Microsoft's next – and perhaps most indicative – move was ending trust for legacy kernel drivers signed through the cross-signed root certificate program. Since April 2026, the Windows kernel has trusted only drivers that have passed official validation under the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP), along with previously approved legacy drivers included on an allowlist. To minimize compatibility issues, Microsoft is introducing the new policy in audit mode before moving to mandatory enforcement. For enterprise customers, the company has also added Application Control for Business, allowing IT administrators to manually authorize specific proprietary or in-house drivers. These changes apply to both client and server editions of Windows.

Finally, in July 2026, Microsoft announced that it would introduce TPM-based hardware verification into the Key Management Service (KMS). KMS is commonly used in enterprise environments for license management, but it has also been widely exploited for unauthorized activation, particularly of Windows Server licenses, through counterfeit or emulated KMS servers. The new mechanism is intended to make such schemes considerably more difficult. Beginning in August, administrators will start receiving system warnings, while the next LTSC release of Windows Server will make TPM-based verification mandatory. The initiative reflects a broader industry trend: vendors are gradually shifting trust mechanisms from the software layer to the hardware layer.

It is reasonable to conclude that Microsoft is steadily transforming Windows from a universal operating system designed for maximum compatibility into a more tightly controlled platform, where trust is built on a combination of licensing, hardware identity, and certified software. As a result, modern enterprise infrastructure must meet increasingly demanding requirements, which may prove challenging for the Russian market given the sanctions environment and the absence of Microsoft support. Changes in the policies of foreign vendors are becoming a factor that directly affects the operation of IT infrastructure. When selecting an operating system, customers can no longer base their decision solely on product functionality. They are also evaluating the predictability of the platform's lifecycle, the transparency of its licensing model, and its independence from decisions made by an external vendor. By those criteria, domestic operating systems gain a clear competitive advantage. It is therefore reasonable to expect that tighter platform policies will become another driver encouraging Russian companies to migrate

Mikhail Gellerman

Director of Operating Systems, Astra Group

Astra Linux is evolving in line with market demand and its strategy of becoming the new national standard for import substitution. Astra Group is steadily expanding its ecosystem of infrastructure, system, and application software, broadening the portfolio of compatible solutions, increasing automation, improving the user experience, providing comprehensive vendor support, and delivering tools that simplify migration to Astra Linux.