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Re:US city rejects $5.3M ransom demand and restores encrypte... by beagle3 on Friday September 06, 2019 @06:38AM (#20894485)
everything is backed up for reference, but only data is ever restored.

Macro execution is supposed to be disabled on Word/Excel, though I trust that less (and there’s always the issue of some unpatched/zeroday); however, to go through here is more expensive for attackera because much more individual targeting and customization is required.

Re:US city rejects $5.3M ransom demand and restores encrypte... by AnIdiotOnTheNet on Friday September 06, 2019 @09:22AM (#20895358)
It is difficult to imagine people who are heavy Excel users being ok with macros being disabled wholesale.
Re:US city rejects $5.3M ransom demand and restores encrypte... by beagle3 on Friday September 06, 2019 @10:01AM (#20895695)
Indeed, they are not heavy excel users. Which is sort of the point: the need for targeted attacks greatly reduces and segments the addressable “market” for the bad guys.
Re:US city rejects $5.3M ransom demand and restores encrypte... by auslander on Friday September 06, 2019 @10:34AM (#20895979)
Nah. Point stands, attack can survive the restore inside Office docs because macros are generally allowed.
Re:US city rejects $5.3M ransom demand and restores encrypte... by auslander on Friday September 06, 2019 @06:55AM (#20894543)
Good practice. I'm just playing around, devil's advocate.