Excel is a standard tool that comes with other Microsoft programs. They are essential for all organizations and any office worker should be able to use them. Excel usually contains a lot of confidential information that is well organized, making it a valuable prey for cybercriminals. In this article, we will look at Excel’s internal security measures as well as protecting the program using a virtual data room.
Protecting Excel with a password
To set a password for a file with Excel does not need to do anything complicated. To do this, click on the “file” tab and go to the “information” section, then select the “protect the book” function and then “encrypt with a password”. Then you enter a strong password twice to confirm your actions and close the file. This is the basic protection that should preferably be present in all Excel files where confidential information is stored.
In addition to setting a password, you can also remove all functions of interacting with the document besides viewing, so that another user cannot download or modify the file if he does not have a password for the file. An additional feature of file protection is to require an electronic signature to access the file.
Problems with passwords
Finding the right password is not an easy task that requires some kind of middle ground. The password should not be too simple, but it is also impossible to make it extremely difficult because it is so difficult to remember and also makes access more difficult for other parties, who should also have access to this document. Also, password protection in itself is not the most reliable security method, because the more a person knows the password, the more vulnerable he becomes.
Also, do not forget that you and your employees or a potential third party will have to enter a password every time they need access to the file, and since we cannot make the same password for absolutely all confidential data, this becomes a real problem as it is tiresome and difficult. Plus, the more you enter your password into the system, the easier it is for hackers to crack it later.
And if you somehow lose your password, you will not be able to recover it, since Excel does not provide such an opportunity.
Additional protection features in Excel
Additional protection methods for Excel include three types of data encryption:
-Encryption at the level of the book – allows you to issue tasks to individual employees, and thus they can work with their specified sheets, while others are not
-Worksheet-level encryption – allows you to restrict interaction with the file to certain users, so that while some can work in the table, others do not have the right to make any changes, and can only view it
Bring Excel spreadsheets into a virtual data room
As it has already become clear, the security measures and precautions that are already built into the Excel program do not meet the corporate-level security standards. Therefore, for the proper security of your Excel files, third-party protection programs such as virtual data rooms are required. VDR has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most reliable tools for storing and exchanging documents. They have reliable state-of-the-art security protocols, data encryption, double authentication, and real-time document access control. Forget about external threats forever with a data room.