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

Overview

Finding ID	Version	Rule ID	IA Controls	Severity
V-17617	DTOO190	SV-52727r5_rule		Medium

Description
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.

Description

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.

STIG	Date
Microsoft Office System 2013 STIG	2019-09-30

Details

Check Text ( C-47055r6_chk )
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 HKCU\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", this is not a finding.

Check Text ( C-47055r6_chk )

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 HKCU\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", this is not a finding.

Fix Text (F-45652r2_fix)
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)".