Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysThe ClickFix social engineering tactic is rising in popularity.Microsoft said this initial access method was recorded in 47% of attacks.Traditional phishing protections won’t work. Changing your behavior will.Microsoft is warning that ClickFix social engineering attacks have become a favorite tactic of cybercriminals for gaining access to victims’ networks. The tech giant published its latest Microsoft Digital Defense Report on Thursday. On average, Microsoft processes over 100 trillion signals every day, blocks approximately 4.5 million new malware attempts, screens 5 billion emails for malware and phishing, and scrutinizes approximately 38 million identity risk detections, which grants the company the data needed to provide a thorough overview of current cybercriminal trends, tactics, and techniques. Also: Microsoft debuts its next big high-stakes AI feature in Windows – can you trust it?The 2025 version of the annual report notes that AI abuse by threat actors, from entry-level to state-sponsored, is on the rise, as are extortion attempts and ransomware infections. Of particular note is a social engineering technique known as ClickFix.What is ClickFix?Since early 2024, Microsoft has tracked ClickFix attempts and observed its increase in popularity. Over the past year, ClickFix has become a widely adopted initial attack technique, attempting to lure users into scamming or putting themselves at risk by tricking them into launching malicious code.This social engineering technique can be adapted for various access scenarios, but in general, ClickFix tries to take advantage of human problem-solving. Fake error messages, for example, could request users to fix a minor technical problem by copying and pasting code or launching commands on their system. More