Introducing Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) 4.1

In June 2013, we released EMET 4.0 and customer response has been fantastic. Many customers across the world now include EMET as part of their defense-in-depth strategy and appreciate how EMET helps businesses prevent attackers from gaining access to computers systems. Today, we’re releasing a new version, EMET 4.1, with updates that simplify configuration and accelerate deployment.

EMET anticipates the most common techniques adversaries might use and shields computer systems against those security threats. EMET uses security mitigation technologies such as Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Mandatory Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), Structured Exception Handler Overwrite Protection (SEHOP), Export Address Table Access Filtering (EAF), Anti-ROP, and SSL/TLS Certificate Trust Pinning, to help protect computer systems from new or undiscovered threats. EMET can also protect legacy applications or third party line of business applications where you do not have access to the source code.

Today’s EMET 4.1 release includes new functionality and updates, such as:

• Updated default protection profiles, Certificate Trust rules, and Group Policy Object configuration.
• Shared remote desktop environments are now supported on Windows servers where EMET is installed.
• Improved Windows Event logging mechanism allows for more accurate reporting in multi-user scenarios.
• Several application-compatibility enhancements and mitigation false positive reporting.

EMET built by Microsoft Security Research Center (MSRC) engineering team, brings the latest in security science to your organization. While many EMET users exchange feedback and ideas at TechNet user forums, a less known fact is that Microsoft Premier Support options are also available for businesses that deploy EMET within their enterprise. Many of our customers deploy EMET - at scale - through the Microsoft System Center Configuration manager and apply enterprise application, user and accounts rules through Group Policy. EMET works well with the tools and support options our customers know and use today.

As we continue to advance EMET, we welcome your feedback on what you like and what additional features would help in protecting your business. If you are attending RSA Conference at San Francisco, or the Blackhat Conference in Las Vegas next year, be sure to stop by the Microsoft booth, and share your feedback with us. We look forward to hearing from you.

The EMET Team