Can open and scan Microsoft password-protected .zip files.
Zip packages can be password protected, so the contents should be protected from prying eyes. However, this is not necessary in Microsoft’s cloud.
Security researcher Andrew Brandt recently discovered that Microsoft extracts, opens, and scans password-protected Zip packages uploaded to Microsoft’s cloud servers. Microsoft aims to seek out information security threats.
Brandt discovered this while attempting to share malware samples with other researchers via SharePoint. Microsoft claimed one of the zip packages as a security threat. According to the information, the zip package is also scanned from the Microsoft 365 cloud account.
Brandt said he understands the practice for regular users. However, this practice is problematic for security professionals, who sometimes have to move malware from place to place.
It’s unclear how Microsoft opens the package for review. According to experts, Microsoft tries a list of common passwords or looks for passwords in user’s e-mail messages.
Google Workspace service has completely banned the sending of password protected zip archives. It should be mentioned that protecting a zip package with a password is not a very effective means of security.
