Security News > 2023 > March > Microsoft OneNote to get enhanced security after recent malware abuse
Microsoft will introduce improved protection against phishing attacks pushing malware via malicious Microsoft OneNote files.
To thwart phishing attacks using malicious Microsoft OneNote attachments, you can set up secure mail gateways or mail servers to automatically block OneNote documents with.
Windows admins can also use Microsoft Office group policies to prevent embedded OneNote files from launching.
To do that, you must install the Microsoft 365/Microsoft Office group policy templates and enable the 'Disable embedded files' and 'Embedded Files Blocked Extensions' Microsoft OneNote policies.
Attackers have been spotted abusing OneNote files for various malicious purposes, including downloading and installing malware payloads like info stealers.
The switch to OneNote came after Microsoft finally disabled Word and Excel macros by default and patched a MoTW bypass zero-day used to deliver malware via ISO and ZIP files.
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