Microsoft Office 365 Gets Built-in Ransomware Protection and Enhanced Security Features
Ransomware has been around for a few years, but it has become an albatross around everyone’s neck, targeting big businesses, hospitals, financial institutions and individuals worldwide and extorting millions of dollars.
Last year, we saw some major ransomware outbreaks, including WannaCry and NotPetya, which wreaked havoc across the world, hitting hundreds of thousands of computers and business networks worldwide.
From small to mid-range businesses, Microsoft Office 365 remains the most widely used and fastest-growing work office suite, so it’s no surprise that it has become a primary target for viruses, ransomware, and phishing scams.
In fact, most strains of ransomware target Microsoft productivity apps such as Word, Excel and encrypt sensitive data to hold the company hostage until the ransom is paid.
Now, to combat such cyber attacks, Microsoft has announced some new security features for Office 365 that can help users mitigate the damage done by ransomware and other malware infections.
The new features were initially introduced for OneDrive for Business, but that the company is now rolling them out to anyone who has signed up for an Office 365 Home or Personal subscription, Microsoft Office blog says.
Office 365 has added three new features to help keep your confidential or personal data (such as tax documents, family budgets, or a new business proposal) secure and private when sharing them online.
• Password protected sharing links—This feature allows you to set a password for your shared file and folders, preventing unauthorized access even if your recipient accidentally forwards protected documents to others.
• Email encryption—This feature allows users to send/receive end-to-end encrypted emails in Outlook over a secure connection, providing additional protection to minimize the threat of being intercepted.
• Prevent forwarding—Microsoft now enables you to restrict your email recipients from forwarding or copying emails you send to them from Outlook. Besides this, any MS Office document attached to your emails will remain encrypted even after downloading, so if the recipient shares your attachment with others, they will not be able to open it.
Source | thehackernews