As an alternative to OpenXml there's also ExcelDataReader which from my experience is a lot faster in processing data compared to Interop.Excel(around 3 times+).
It can also open encrypted Excel files directly(stackoverflow)
The github page for ExcelDataReader has some great examples on how to use it. The only thing you'd have to do is:
This:
using (var stream = File.Open(filePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
Becomes this:
using (var stream = new MemoryStream(yourByte[])
And if you just want to open the password protected excel file you'd do this:
var conf = new ExcelReaderConfiguration { Password = "yourPassword" }; //Add this
excelReader = ExcelReaderFactory.CreateReader(stream, conf); //change the excel Reader to this
Make sure to check the Github page for more info!