Data loss is a risk for Windows 11 users who have the latest CPUs

Data loss risks exist for users of Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022 whose devices use the latest processors, Microsoft warns.

' Devices supporting the latest Vector Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) (VAES) instruction set might be at risk for data loss (opens in new tab), the company cautioned.

According to this explanation, the devices affected by this problem use either AES-XTS or AES-GCM block cipher modes. Users would not know if they were affected if Microsoft did not explain how the flaw manifests itself. Software patches released on May 24 and June 14 fixed the issue, according to the company.

It has been reported that some of the fixes will slow the endpoints significantly, perhaps twice as slow as before the patches were applied.BitLocker, Transport Layer Security (TLS) (specifically load balancers), and disk performance (for enterprise customers) are the most vulnerable.

'To benefit from VAES (vectorized AES), we added new code paths to Windows 11 (original release) and Windows Server 2022,' said Microsoft. The SymCrypt cryptographic library is the core in Windows and operates on the Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) registers on hardware with the newest processors supported.'

You can restore your initial performance metrics by installing Windows 11 preview update or July 12 security update (Windows 11, Windows Server 2022), if this performance issue hits your endpoints too hard.

We strongly recommend that if this affects you, you install either the May 24, 2022 preview release or the June 14, 2022 security release as soon as possible, to avoid further damage.

It will take approximately 24 hours for performance to return after you install either the June 23, 2022 preview release or the July 12, 2022 security release.'Keeping all data backed up and testing backups regularly is the best way to avoid data loss, be it through disaster or theft.

The journalist Sead has been reporting on Bosnia and Herzegovina for over a decade. He writes about cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws, and regulations) and IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN). Since he began writing for Al Jazeera Balkans more than a decade ago, he has contributed to numerous media outlets.

As part of Represent Communications, he has also taught several modules on content writing.