Microsoft has pulled back on its decision to block downloaded Excel files containing macros by default. They have said they will push this change out again in the future. If you were caught flat-footed by this decision and suddenly couldn’t figure out how to unblock your Excel files that you relied upon, you need to act before Microsoft rolls this out again. Evaluate now why you are allowing such risky behavior and how you can better protect your firm.
While Microsoft pulled back from this decision, I urge you to look for additional ways to protect users from phishing lures and attack vectors that include malicious Office files. Because many of these attacks come via email, but not necessarily as email attachments, evaluate whether your phishing protection and user education are appropriate. I’ve seen many a phishing lure come in via web links, pretend cloud services, and other techniques that bypass traditional antivirus and file filtering.
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