Microsoft's Windows Hardware Program account verification process, which began in October, has locked out an unknown number of ISVs globally after they failed to reauthenticate by the deadline. Some vendors claim they never received the notices, while others say they completed reauthentication but were still blocked. The disruption cascaded to ISVs' customers, causing widespread operational outages. Microsoft executives including Scott Hanselman and Pavan Davuluri acknowledged the issue on X, partly blaming vendors for missing emails while committing to improve communication. Analysts highlight the power imbalance between Microsoft and dependent developers, and a CISO explains why Microsoft's strict control over boot-time code signing via UEFI effectively creates a monopoly over what software can run before the OS loads.
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