Aussies could be at risk with a new malware targeting Office 365 making the rounds

HUNDREDS of thousands of Aussies could be at risk with a new malware targeting Office 365 users making the rounds.

HUNDREDS of thousands of Aussies could be at risk with a new malware making the rounds.

Discovered by leading cyber security company Check Point, the particularly vicious “Zero-day” malware has widely spread across Office 365 — including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and other applications.

Security analyst Raymond Schippers said cyber criminals were catching unsuspecting victims by asking them to open an invoice sent by email.

“The email sent to Office 365 users via Outlook gives the appearance of an invoice in the form of an Office document,” he told news.com.au

“When they go to open it, a message will appear telling people the document was created with a previous version of the software, so they will need to click something to enable the content.

“Users should not click the message as it will open up the ransomware, which will collect all of their files before asking for a payment to get them unlocked.”

Mr Schippers said the cyber criminals would ask for a couple of hundred Australian dollars to be paid, but under no circumstances should people comply.

“We are advising users to close the document and delete the email if they have opened it,” he said.

“If the message has been clicked and the ransomware installed, people should restore their computers from an available backup.”

Of course, Mr Schippers said this should be the last case scenario and reminded people that prevention was the best protection.

“People should ensure they keep regular backups of their computers, which should be stored offline. They should install a variety of protections types and should be more wary of suspicious content.”