Why is a TPM chip mandatory to run Windows 11?
To be honest, we all didn't know about the existence of a computer chip called TPM until Microsoft announced the list of minimum specifications required to run the new version - Windows 11. The list included undoubtedly interesting specifications, and because of it, a huge number of devices that can be classified as "New" will not be eligible for a free upgrade to the new version, either because the list of supported processors does not include any processors made before 2017, or just because a TPM chip has become mandatory to run Windows 11, which is not present on all computers. So what is a TPM chip originally?
Here's everything we know about it and its significance
After Microsoft announced the successor to Windows 10 and the release of the Windows 11 operating system, many users were excited about the new features that it brought, as the system came with more than just a new Start menu, but also support for downloading Android apps from the Microsoft Store as well and other notable changes that we explained with some The breakdown of everything about Windows 11. But in the midst of all the excitement, we've all been ignoring an important game-changing factor: the need for a TPM chip to run Windows 11.
A TPM chip or Trusted Platform Module developed by the Trusted Computing Group to act as a "cryptographic processor" for computers and is either built into the motherboard; Any capacitors are welded, or combined with the processor.
There is a second type of it that is a software addition or firmware, meaning that it is not a chip in its traditional form, but a program that the manufacturer adds to the processor and plays the same role that the TPM chip plays, which is to create a reliable environment separate from the rest of the complex operations that the CPU performs, and it may have A different name depending on the processor type, such as PPT on Intel processors and PSP TPM on AMD processors.
The function of the chip is simply to provide the operating system with encrypted keys to perform encryption on authentication data or other important data in general and then keep those keys on its own memory to be isolated from the storage so that malware and cyber-attacks cannot access and tamper with the encrypted data even if the computer is himself injured.
The chip includes a set of mechanisms capable of confronting malicious software, as it is designed to counter any attempt to tamper with the highly sensitive data that it encrypts. Rather, this chip provides a feature that helps it detect attempts to circumvent encryption, meaning that the motherboard cannot be tampered with in any way or remove the chip and place on another motherboard to bypass the encryption.
This technology has proven its worth over the years. It can be said that it is impossible to break the encryption carried out by the TPM chip, and since its inception until this moment, no security attack has been able to penetrate it, access the encryption keys stored on the TPM, and read the protected data responsible for its encryption, because it is a Processor independent, they are not vulnerable to operating system vulnerabilities or hacking attacks.
With this in mind, the TPM chip offers computer users something very important that even if the computer is infected with a virus, no matter how powerful, the data encrypted using it is not and will not be affected.
For Windows, the TPM chip is an essential component for encrypting authentication data and other things, for example encrypting entire volumes when using BitLocker, storing and encrypting the PIN code used at login, as well as saving and encrypting registered fingerprint and facial data.
When Windows Hello is enabled (if supported on the device) and other sensitive data that cannot be secured by traditional methods, but is encrypted in an isolated environment to remain protected and secured against cyber-attacks that specifically target this data to force the user to pay a “ransom” in exchange for the ability to Turn on his PC!