Microsoft boosts Windows Phone security lifecycle support

Microsoft has increased its support lifecycle from 18 months to 36 months for Windows Phone devices.

Updates will kick off with Windows Phone 8 which will have incremental security updates for 36 months. 

However distribution of the updates would be at the mercy of phone operators and manufacturers which could slow the process.

Users commenting on the Microsoft release vented frustration at tardy carriers which had not released existing updates.

"Agreeing to push out updates does little good if AT&T and Verizon choose not to push the updates to our devices," user Typoon87 said.

"Tis a pity that the carriers continue to be the logjam of progress," user dalydose said.

Microsoft Windows Phone vice president Tony Mestres said the updates were designed to appease enterprise security concerns.

The company will also release early next year an "enterprise feature pack" which will introduce improved mobile device management policies to lockdown apps, S/MIME to sign and encrypt email and app aware, auto-triggered VPN to access corporate resources behind the firewall.

Copyright © SC Magazine, Australia