The encryption type for password protected Office 97 thru Office 2003 must be set.

From Microsoft Office System 2013 STIG

Part of DTOO190 - Encr. type for Password Protected files

SV-52727r3_rule The encryption type for password protected Office 97 thru Office 2003 must be set.

Vulnerability discussion

If unencrypted files are intercepted, sensitive information in the files can be compromised. To protect information confidentiality, Microsoft Office application files can be encrypted and password protected. Only users who know the correct password will be able to decrypt such files. Since some encryption types are less secure and easier to breach, Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider, AES-256, 256-bit should be used when encrypting documents.

Check content

Verify the policy value for User Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2013 >> Security Settings "Encryption type for password protected Office 97-2003 files" is set to "Enabled (Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider, AES 256,256)". Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following hive: HKEY_Users For every users profile hive under HKEY_Users, navigate to the following key: \Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\common\security If the value “DefaultEncryption12” is REG_SZ = "Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider, AES 256,256" for every user profile hive, this is not a finding. Fix Text: Set the policy value for User Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Microsoft Office 2013 >> Security Settings "Encryption type for password protected Office 97-2003 files" to "Enabled (Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider, AES 256,256)".

Fix text

Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2013 -> Security Settings "Encryption type for password protected Office 97-2003 files" to "Enabled (Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider,AES 256,256)".

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