One of the most consequential signals in Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report 2025 is not a new malware family or zero-day exploit. It is how often attackers succeed without using either.

The report reinforces a shift many security teams are already observing in practice. Rather than relying on traditional phishing links and attachments, attackers are increasingly turning to social engineering techniques that exploit normal human behavior.

A clear example is ClickFix, which Microsoft identifies as one of the most common initial access methods observed over the past year. Instead of delivering malware directly, ClickFix campaigns persuade users to take console command actions that appear routine but ultimately lead to compromise.

This shift reflects a broader change in how email-based attacks succeed. Preventing them requires defenses that recognize unusual behavior early, rather than relying on known indicators after the fact.

ClickFix removes the familiar signals most security tools look for. There is no malicious link to inspect or attachment to detonate.

Attackers impersonate trusted entities such as IT teams, service desks, or well-known brands and instruct users to copy and paste commands into tools like Windows Run or PowerShell. The request is often framed as routine support, such as fixing a login issue or completing a required update, making the action feel normal rather than suspicious.

A typical ClickFix message often begins as a standard IT notification.

• The message references a familiar internal tool.

• The request appears routine, framed as IT housekeeping.

• The user is asked to run a short command to resolve an issue.

Nothing appears overtly malicious, and the user complies. Within moments, code executes in memory, credentials are harvested, and a foothold is established. The absence of obvious red flags is precisely what makes ClickFix effective.

Because the action is user-initiated and the message appears benign, many traditional email and endpoint controls never trigger. In practical terms, reputation-based detection has little to evaluate.

Microsoft’s report outlines several measures for reducing ClickFix risk, including user education, enhanced script logging, clipboard monitoring, and browser hardening. These controls reflect how subtle and human-centric the technique has become.

A ClickFix analysis published on the Microsoft Security blog breaks down how these attacks compromise users and outlines the defensive measures required to contain them. The guidance emphasizes awareness training, monitoring, and response workflows designed to catch suspicious behavior.

Many of these approaches depend on consistent user behavior and detailed endpoint visibility. In practice, they often detect suspicious activity only after a user has already engaged, which can increase operational effort for security teams. As social engineering becomes more adaptive, relying solely on training or reactive controls becomes increasingly difficult to scale.

ClickFix campaigns still depend on social engineering delivered through email, making the email layer a critical opportunity to reduce risk earlier in the attack chain.

Abnormal Inbound Email Security focuses on behavioral signals rather than links, attachments, or known indicators. By understanding who a sender is, how they typically communicate, and whether a request makes sense in context, Abnormal can identify messages that deviate from normal business behavior.

This allows suspicious instructions to be intercepted earlier in the email flow, even when messages contain no malicious URLs or attachments and use trusted infrastructure. The goal is not to replace user awareness or endpoint controls, but to reduce exposure before a user is asked to make a decision.

ClickFix is one example of a broader trend highlighted throughout Microsoft’s report. Attackers are blending into legitimate workflows, abusing trust, and relying on human actions to advance attacks.

Traditional controls are effective at detecting things that look malicious. They are far less effective at spotting activity that looks routine.

ClickFix operates in a gray area where:

• The message content appears legitimate.

• The action is user-initiated.

• The risk only becomes visible after execution.

In these cases, context is more informative than content, and behavior is a more reliable signal than static indicators. Messages that fall outside established communication patterns can be flagged as high-risk, even when the technique itself is new.

For CISOs, ClickFix reinforces a broader shift toward attacks that exploit trust and routine business processes rather than technical gaps alone. Reducing this risk at scale requires controls that limit reliance on perfect user behavior and do not introduce additional friction for employees.

For SOC teams, ClickFix-style attacks can be difficult to detect once a user has already acted. Identifying suspicious messages earlier in the attack chain reduces downstream alerts, investigation time, and reactive remediation.

Microsoft’s research highlights an important reality: modern social engineering adapts faster than training programs and static detection rules. The depth of Microsoft’s ClickFix guidance reflects how much effort is required once these messages reach a user.

As attackers continue to exploit trust and routine, reducing exposure earlier in the email lifecycle becomes increasingly important. By focusing on behavioral signals and contextual legitimacy, organizations can shift protection upstream. ClickFix makes the problem visible. Behavioral email security helps organizations operationalize protection against it, without adding friction for users or unnecessary work for security teams.

To see how Abnormal stops novel cloud email attack methods like ClickFix, schedule a personalized demo.