Title

The encryption type for password protected Office 97 thru Office 2003 must be set. (Cat II impact)

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.

Check Content

The policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2010 -> Security Settings “Encryption type for password protected Office 97-2003 files” must be set to “Enabled (Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider,AES 256,256)”. Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\14.0\common\security Criteria: If the value DefaultEncryption12 is REG_SZ = “Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider,AES 256,256", this is not a finding.

Fix Text

Set the policy value for User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2010 -> Security Settings “Encryption type for password protected Office 97-2003 files” to “Enabled (Microsoft Enhanced RSA and AES Cryptographic Provider,AES 256,256)”.

Additional Identifiers

Rule ID: SV-33457r2_rule

Vulnerability ID: V-17617

Group Title: DTOO190 - Encr. type for Password Protected files

Expert Comments

CCIs tied to check.

Controls tied to check. These are derived from the CCIs shown above.