Microsoft Takes Aim at Malicious Office Macros
Microsoft has finally taken action against a common threat vector, blocking by default Office macros downloaded from the internet.
A vast range of threat actors sent users phishing emails containing innocuous-looking attachments. However, they often contain embedded Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros obtained from the internet.
Once enabled by users with a single click, these initiate a download of a malicious payload to support information theft, ransomware and other attacks.
Microsoft’s latest action is intended to enable the continued use of legitimate macros while making it harder for threat actors to socially engineer users into enabling malicious content.
“For macros in files obtained from the internet, users will no longer be able to enable content with a click of a button. A message bar will appear for users notifying them with a button to learn more. The default is more secure and is expected to keep more users safe including home users and information workers in managed organizations,” it explained.
“Organizations can use the ‘Block macros from running in Office files from the internet’ policy to prevent users from inadvertently opening files from the internet that contain macros. Microsoft recommends enabling this policy, and if you do enable it, your organization won’t be affected by this default change.”
The new rules will apply to the five most common Office apps: Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, and Word. It will impact only Office running on Windows devices, with the changes rolled out from version 2203, starting with Current Channel (Preview) in early April 2022.
Later, the change will be available in the other update channels, such as Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise Channel and Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel.
Oliver Tavakoli, CTO at Vectra, argued that default settings matter in cybersecurity.
“Seemingly 50-50 decisions made by product managers at application and platform providers can expose their customers to extraordinary risk. As the example of VBA macros demonstrates, once such a choice has been made it’s a difficult and lengthy process to change the default to something more secure as the fear of breaking things creates a form of institutional paralysis,” he added.
“The security lesson is simple: leave features which may have security implications off by default and let customers choose whether the benefit of the feature outweighs the security risk of having it on.”
More Stories
Prison for cybersecurity expert selling private videos from inside 400,000 homes
A Korean cybersecurity expert has been sentenced to prison for illegally accessing and distributing private photos and videos from vulnerable...
Critical Vulnerabilities in Cinterion Modems Exposed
The flaws include CVE-2023-47610, a security weakness within the modem’s SUPL message handlers Read More
Mallox Ransomware Deployed Via MS-SQL Honeypot Attack
Analyzing Mallox samples, Sekoia identified two distinct affiliates using different approaches Read More
How to Stop Phone Spoofing
From impersonating police officers in Pennsylvania to employees of the City of San Antonio, scammers have been impersonating officials nationwide...
Ascension Ransomware Attack Diverts Ambulances, Delays Appointments
A ransomware attack on US private healthcare provider Ascension has disrupted patient care, with several hospitals currently on diversion Read...
How Did Authorities Identify the Alleged Lockbit Boss?
Last week, the United States joined the U.K. and Australia in sanctioning and charging a Russian man named Dmitry Yuryevich...