Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Criminals have noticed that spreadsheet's XLL files add custom functionality - including malware It took a few years and one temporary halt, but in July Microsoft finally began blocking certain macros by default in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, cutting off a popular attack vector for those who target users of Microsoft's Windows OS and Office suite.…

Most phishing attack vectors observed involved clicking a direct link to a phishing page

Hackers who normally distributed malware via phishing attachments with malicious macros gradually changed tactics after Microsoft Office began blocking them by default, switching to new file types such as ISO, RAR, and Windows Shortcut (LNK) attachments. [...]

Microsoft on Monday said it's taking steps to disable Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros by default across its products, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Visio, for documents downloaded from the web in an attempt to eliminate an entire class of attack vector