14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced that it’s postponing the demise of TLS 1.0 and 1.1 in its browsers due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Because a significant number of developers are staying home to avoid contracting the virus, the work typically required due to such a substantial change requires more effort and obviously more time, so Microsoft has decided to push back the date when TLS 1.0 and 1.1 would be pulled to the second half of the year.
Originally scheduled for the first half of 2020, the demise of TLS 1.0 and 1.1 would technically break down websites still using them. There aren’t many, but given some government pages across the world might still be using them at a time when everyone needs these sites made Microsoft to reconsider the schedule.
Major browser release also canceled
In Microsoft Edge, the date when TLS 1.0 and 1.1 would be disabled by default is now version 84, which is currently due in July 2020. For the original Microsoft Edge version, also called Legacy, and Internet Explorer 11, the new default is now September 8, 2020.
“As announced in October of 2018, Microsoft will soon disable Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 and 1.1 by default in Microsoft browsers. In light of current global circumstances, we will be postponing this planned change—originally scheduled for the first half of 2020,” Microsoft announced today.
“While these protocols will remain available for customers to re-enable as needed, we recommend that all organizations move off of TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 as soon as is practical. Newer versions of the TLS protocol enable more modern cryptography and are broadly supported across modern browsers, such as the new Microsoft Edge.”
Microsoft is also skipping a major release of Microsoft Edge (version 82 has been canceled for good). The next big update is Edge 81 due in early April.