Hackers Seize on Excel Vulnerability - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership

With the proliferation of spreadsheets in accounting information systems, it is interesting to note that hackers can exploit weaknesses in them to gain access to other elements of the system. That is happening now, with a current and likely short term flaw in Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet. Patches are available but many have not yet installed them. Spreadsheets are very convenient for accumulating and working with data, and are widely used in systems, particularly to perform end-of-cycle routines, such as preparation of financial statements. They are used so widely and make it so difficult to leave an audit trail that some have referred to the phenomenon as "spreadsheet hell" Hackers Seize on Excel Vulnerability - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership