Microsoft follows Mozilla in considering early ban on SHA-1 certificates

Microsoft is considering whether to push up the blocking of the SHA-1 hashing algorithm on Windows to as early as June, taking a cue from a similar decision by the Mozilla Foundation.

The software maker had earlier said that Windows would block SHA-1 signed TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificates starting Jan. 1, 2017, but is now mulling whether to move up the date in view of recent advances in attacks on the SHA-1 algorithm, a cryptographic hash function designed by the U.S. National Security Agency.

Concerns about the security of the algorithm prompted Microsoft, Google and Mozilla to announce that their browsers would stop accepting SHA-1 SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here