Windows 11 ISO downloads were failing in Rufus — was Microsoft behind it?

Last week, several users noticed an unsettling change in the latest Windows Insider preview builds: they were unable to access Windows 11 ISO downloads. The issue persists across the Windows 11 Canary build 28020.1611 and the Server preview build 29531.

The problem was flagged by “ChronoVore” on Microsoft’s official forum, who reported being unable to download the latest Windows 11 ISO. They further noted that the error message suggested their IP address was being blocked.