Performing a Proper Office Document Risk Assessment

If Microsoft Office documents are exploited by malevolent actors, these safe pieces of information can turn risky. The risk is determined by a variety of factors – some more dangerous than others. To understand what you need to do as an office to protect yourself from hackers and malware, it is important to know what to look out for. With Matthijssen Business System's Office document risk assessment, businesses entities can ensure their organization is safe from volatile files.

Microsoft Office Documents with Built-In Macros

Files with built-in macros are often the most dangerous. Macros include portions of code that have been commonly used for malware. While there are security measures to protect from harmful downloads, macros still pose a significant threat.

According to our Office document risk assessment, nearly every document platform – including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and others – can contain this code written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Hackers then embed these codes into documents and distribute malicious files online.

How Macro Viruses Harm

While the act of hacking causes the most damage, the distribution of these documents plays an equally important role in any attack. In previous years, attackers would hack into a person's address book and send the infected documents to the contact list. This act inundates their mailbox with potentially harmful mail.

Protection from Macro Viruses

Nowadays, the security of Microsoft Office documents and methods of prevention like this Office document risk assessment are much better and can help protect against malware. Office disables viruses by default and provides a notification prohibiting the macro code from infecting the device.

Most importantly: do not disable Office's built-in security features. Even if you download a file with a macro virus, the security level of Office can help you avoid contracting the virus. Of course, you should only open files from people you trust. Macro codes can be used for good or bad; you just need to know how to avoid the bad.

If your business could use a full Office document risk assessment, contact the experts at Matthijssen Business Systems. Our Document Management Solution has streamlined countless business entities and helped combat hacker's malicious attacks. To further inquire about our services, feel free to reach out to our dedicated support team.