Security News > 2022 > March > Intel's 12th-gen Alder Lake processors will not include Microsoft's Pluton security

Microsoft's attempt to put its homegrown Pluton security processor architecture into third-party Windows 11 PCs is right now more work-in-progress than the slam dunk its publicity would have you believe.

Pluton is the software giant's move to define a level of security that should be baked into microprocessors that run its Windows OS. Pluton implementations are supposed to securely store and safeguard encryption keys, credentials, and other sensitive information, such as biometric data, within the processor package, making it difficult for miscreants to extract this info.

Microsoft announced Pluton in November 2020 in conjunction with Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD; the trio's chips were expected to implement Pluton as an embedded co-processor.

Intel isn't putting Pluton in its newest PC microprocessors, its 12th-generation Core family code-named Alder Lake, which started appearing in laptops this month.

A Lenovo spokesperson told The Register these Intel-based ThinkPads "Will not support Microsoft Pluton at launch."

A Microsoft spokesperson told The Register Pluton was developed with processor makers with a long-term vision to improve security all the way down to the chipset level.

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https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/03/02/microsoft_pluton_chip/