CLion startup: Undefined critical error on Windows: Could not load file or assembly 'JetBrains.Lifetimes.dll'

Problem

Starting CLion on Windows leads to a critical error. 

The backend error log contains the following error:

C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Programs\CLion\plugins\clion-radler\DotFiles\windows-x64\Rider.Backend.exe --runtimeconfig C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Programs\CLion\plugins\clion-radler\DotFiles\Rider.Backend.windows.runtimeconfig.json --Port=60518
Unhandled exception. System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Programs\CLion\plugins\clion-radler\DotFiles\NetCore\JetBrains.Lifetimes.dll'. This program is blocked by group policy. For more information, contact your system administrator. (0x800704EC)
File name: 'C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Programs\CLion\plugins\clion-radler\DotFiles\NetCore\JetBrains.Lifetimes.dll'
   at JetBrains.Rider.Backend.Product.RiderBackendProgram.Main()

Resolution

First, check whether Windows Defender is blocking the JetBrains.Lifetimes.dll file. To do that, temporarily disable Windows Defender real-time protection (Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings > Real-time protection), then start CLion again. 

If CLion starts normally in this case, then security software is the cause. To work around the issue, re-enable the real-time protection and add a permanent exclusion: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings > Exclusions > Add or remove exclusions > Add an exclusion > Folder > <path to CLion> (C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Programs\CLion in this example).

If disabling Windows Defender real-time protection doesn't help, contact the system administrator to investigate the cause of the blockage of usage JetBrains.Lifetimes.dll.