Virtual Smart Card lock

Question

Hello. Our company uses Windows authorization and some other services using a virtual smart card. The problem is that the virtual smart card is blocked after 5 incorrect PIN entries. It is the smart card that is blocked, not the TPM. Tell me, is it possible to somehow increase the number of incorrect attempts to enter or unlock a smart card after a certain period of time? I know about unblocking with the PUK and PIN of the administrator. We have a domain infrastructure (Win Server 2019 + Win 10 Pro 2004)

Answer 1

You are welcome
I remember a GPO controls the number of failed sign-in attempts that will cause a user account to be locked, you can have a try.
Click on Run and type gpedit.msc.The Local Group Policy Editor window appears.
Navigate to Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Account Policies
Under Account Policies select Account Lockout Policy.
On the right pane double click on Account Lockout Threshold and specify the number of login attempts.
After that you will be asked to confirm the suggested values of Account Lockout Duration and Reset Account Lockout counter.The suggested values cannot be changed and the default is 30 minutes.(You will have to bare with this as this is the Microsoft Default Security Policy Setting.)
Next click on OK or Apply to apply the changes made.

Answer 2

Yes, your thought is correct.
LockedOut. Whether a TPM is locked out.
LockoutHealTime. The time that has to pass until you can unlock the TPM.
LockoutCount. Number of failed attempts.
LockoutMax. Limit of failed attempts.
OwnerClearDisabled. Whether TPM can be reset. If this value is True, the TPM cannot be reset through the operating system by using the owner authorization value. If this value is False, the TPM can be reset through the operating system.
More information here:
Evaluate Virtual Smart Card Security
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/virtual-smart-cards/virtual-smart-card-evaluate-security

Answer 3

Can’t find a way to increase the number of attempt, reset TPM lockout or clear TPM with TPM management is normal method
The TPM has built in anti-hammering technology. Which essentially means that the TPM will lock itself out when invalid data is presented a number of times over a certain time threshold. If you are using a Virtual Smart Card, a number of invalid PIN entries can cause a TPM to lockout. The number of failed attempts and the time threshold are controlled with the following Group Policy settings: Standard user Lockout Duration, Standard User Individual Lockout Threshold, and Standard User Total Lockout Threshold.
Reset TPM Lockout
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/xdot509/microsoft-devices-security-virtual-smart-cards-part-1-introduction-and-trusted-platform-module-updated-11262014#reset-tpm-lockout

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Answer 4

Thank you for your help, TeemoTang-MSFT
Unfortunately, I did not find a solution to my problem by following the link.
Thus, after 5 incorrect attempts to enter, it is the virtual smart card that is blocked(not TPM). Is there a way to increase the number of invalid PIN attempts?

Answer 5

TeemoTang-MSFT, thank you for your answer.

if I enter 5 incorrect PIN codes, the virtual smart card is blocked. The TPM module remains unlocked.

Output Get-tpm command:

TpmPresent : True
TpmReady : True
TpmEnabled : True
TpmActivated : True
TpmOwned : True
RestartPending : True
ManufacturerId : 1398033696
ManufacturerIdTxt : STM
ManufacturerVersion : 74.8.17568.5511
ManufacturerVersionFull20 : 74.8.17568.5511
ManagedAuthLevel : Full
OwnerAuth :
OwnerClearDisabled : False
AutoProvisioning : Enabled
LockedOut : False
LockoutHealTime : 10 minutes
LockoutCount : 5
LockoutMax : 31
SelfTest : {}

I think that it is the virtual smart card that is blocked, and not the TPM module. Am I wrong?
Thank you.