{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-dictionary-term-tsx","path":"/dictionary/clickbait-clickjacking","result":{"data":{"contentfulDictionaryTerm":{"title":"Clickbait / Clickjacking","slug":"clickbait-clickjacking","descriptionMeta":{"childMarkdownRemark":{"rawMarkdownBody":"This article outlines various types of clickjacking and teaches the best ways to defend against this threat."}},"body":{"body":"# Clickjacking Explained\nCybercriminals are continually cultivating their techniques to avoid detection. Today, they can even cloak a seemingly innocuous web page with a ghost layer that contains malicious links. \n\nThis method of attack is what is known as Clickjacking. It can cause you to activate your device cam and mic, or even transfer funds from your bank to the criminal’s bank account without you noticing it. This article outlines various types of Clickjacking, and teaches the best ways to defend against this threat.\n\nImagine yourself car shopping online, browsing through endless options until you finally find a car you fall in love with. Inspired, you decide to bite the bullet and make a purchase. Typically, this involves navigating through several pages of forms, but the process is surprisingly quick. In just about half an hour, you're already the proud owner of a brand new car. As weeks pass, the details of the paperwork fade from memory, leaving only the excitement of your new ride.\n\n### Here’s the Problem\nYou receive an email with what appears to be a loan repayment bill. This bill appears to be the first payment request on your new personal loan. You decide to call the bank and tell them that you never signed up for anything else aside from the initial car loan. But the bank’s representative confirms the presence of your signature on all the papers, in which they send you all the copies via email.\n\nSure enough, you confirm for yourself the presence, and legitimacy of your signature in all the appropriate places, but you just don’t remember signing anything like it at all. \n\nTherefore, you decide to return to the bank for further investigation. And then you find the tell-tale traces from a carbon paper over the cover of these documents which now only indicates that you had literally signed a different thing which was placed on top of what you thought you were previously signing for.\n\nActually, [Clickjacking](https://guard.io/blog/what-are-clickbait-ads) is a similar notion that we often see on sites, such as Facebook, for example, where there are many different marketing ads and applications fighting for our screen space to get our attention. \n\nTo put it simply, cybercriminals are constantly refining their methods to evade detection, employing techniques such as Clickjacking. This deceptive practice involves overlaying a transparent, malicious layer over what appears to be a normal webpage. When you interact with what seems like harmless elements—such as buttons to navigate a car shopping site—you might unknowingly activate your device's camera and microphone, or even authorize a financial transaction\n\n### The Solution?\nThere are a dozen ways to get around this issue—although most of them only revolve around using browser defensive add-ons. The best and most effective against Clickjacking attacks is available for FREE and in paid premiums that are totally worth it. \n\nGoogle Chrome’s browser bodyguard, [Guardio](https://guard.io/plans \"Guardio Plans page\"), will run silently in the background of your web browser without tampering with your net speed, and will often warn you if something fishy is up. But it doesn’t only end with a warning. This advanced browser security tool can also scan your device and eliminate all threats at site, including Like-jacking and Cursor-jacking attempts.\n\n## What is Clickjacking?\nClassified as UI redressing, Clickjacking is a malicious technique that tricks you into clicking different things from what you perceive. This potentially exposes your secret information, like the banking details, for example, or allows a hacker to take over your system while clicking on seemingly innocuous elements. \n\nIt is an instance of a confused deputy problem; in which a hacker tricks your network system into misusing its command. This can be anything, including web pages. Moreover, they called it redressing or iframe overlay because in most instances, you might never realise that your clicks are not going where they are intended for. This can expose you to various vulnerabilities.\n\n## History of Clickjack\nFirstly, it was not very long ago when the possibility of loading a transparent page over another web page was first discovered. Actually, it was in 2002 when it was first noted that this method of attack would allow for a user’s input to affect the invincible layer without the user’s knowledge. But this issue was ignored as a bigger threat until it hit the news again in 2008 as a potential cyber threat.\n\nThis was when two tech-scientists, Robert Hansen and his partner Jeremiah Grossman discovered that the Adobe Flash app can be Clickjacked to allow someone access to the system. Similarly, this term “Clickjacking” was coined by both professions—it was a perfect blending of the words, Click and Jacking. \n\nIn addition, as technology advanced and more similar nature of attacks were being discovered, the focus for the term UI redressing was changed to describe the types of such attacks instead of just using the word, Clickjacking, itself. \n\n## Effects of Clickjacking Attacks\nCriminals have various ways of using redirected clicks for their own benefits. A very prevalent form of [Clickjacking](https://guard.io/blog/what-are-clickbait-ads) involves depicting a login and password form on a site. \n\nIn many cases, you would only assume that you’re providing your info in the usual form—only you are entering the details in fields where a hacker has overlaid a malicious page on the top page to fool you. Hackers will often target valuable info they can exploit, including passwords and credit card details. \n\nAccordingly, a hacker can also decide to redirect clicks to download a virus, or gain access to fundamental systems as a starting point for an ATP (Advanced Persistent Threat). This spells trouble for those relying on protecting intellectual property and their sensitive info.\n\n## Examples of Clickjacking\nFirstly, cybercriminals can hide links under the media and trigger very specific actions. It could be liking a page on FB or placing an order on eBay. Secondly, a hacker might require you to meet some conditions for an attack to succeed. For example, you may be needed to remain logged into social accounts. \n\nIf, let’s say, you got tricked into downloading a virus on your device, then you will definitely have to deal with the compromised system. In the best case scenario, it might only take a simple antivirus scan to fix the problem. But in the worst cases, you might be required to format your device and reinstall the OS.\n\nHere’s an example of a possible Clickjacking.\nFirst, a hacker designs an enticing new page that promises a free trip to disneyland. Behind the scenes, the crook checks if you are logged into your banking website, and if you did, they will load the page that enables the transfer of funds. They complete this by using query parameters, such as SQL injection to insert their own banking details into the form.\n\nSecond, the malicious fund transfer page is displayed in an invisible iframe over the alleged gift page, with the button Confirm Transfer exactly aligned to the Receive Gift button which is left visible to you. You visit the page and click the button “__Book a Free Trip__”.\n\nThe problem is, you haven’t booked any trip to disneyland. You just clicked on a transparent iframe, hitting the Confirm Transfer, and bam, you just confirmed a transaction of funds from your bank to the hacker’s account. And while you’re not aware of what’s typically happening in the background, you are redirected to a malicious page that has some info regarding the fake trip to disneyland.\n\nMoreover, Clickjacking is capable of turning some system features ON/OFF. For instance, it can enable your camera and mic if, say, a JavaScript prompt requests permission to access such info. But it can also extract other information that can be used to fasilite more attacks, including your device location. \n\n## Types of Clickjacking Attacks\nClickjack is susceptible to all kinds of attacks. The UI redressing exposure is high as it’s subjected to vast cybersecurity threats. And while there are several types of Clickjackings, we have mentioned some common ones, in a nutshell.\n\n### Transparent Overlay Attack\nThis trick was used in one of the earliest high-profile Clickjacking. The technique tricked the people into allowing Flash animations to access device features, such as microphone and webcam through the plug-in settings page of the Adobe Flash software.\n\n### Hidden Overlay attack\nHidden overlay was the first UI redressing to be demonstrated. It involves a hacker placing a 1x1 pixel iframe having malicious content that is perfectly concealed underneath the cursor—registering every click on the infected web page. Let me explain.\n\nA genuine page is displayed in the forefront of the screen, completely concealing the malicious page, and the click event is dropped. The hacker then replaces the value of the top’s CSS pointer events. He sets it to none, thus forcing the click events to drop through the legit page overlay and register on the hidden page.\n\n### Drag and Drop Attack\nAlthough many clickjackings are focussed on intercepting clicks, drag and drop can be used to fool you into doing stuff like filing forms, by dragging invincible characters into invincible text fields, and hence delivering sensitive credentials to the potential thief. \n\n### Scrolling Attack\nScrolling vulnerabilities involve sliding a legit web page element like a dialogue box, partially off the screen, overclouding some controls. This could be a warning sign that is slid off the screen, leaving you with only the Cancel and OK buttons options visible. \n\nThe hacker hides the warning text and replaces it with a seemingly harmless prompt message to make it look like the buttons apply to their own message instead of the initial warning text. \n\n### Cropping Attack\nIn this method, the hacker picks only a few controls from the transparent malicious page and overlays it on the visible page. Depending on what an attacker is aiming for, this action could entail concealing buttons with invincible backlinks to cause them to perform a completely different action. \n\nSometimes they can only replace text labels with misleading instructions, or cover an entire page, leaving one, or two buttons exposed to tame the target.\n\n### Repositioning Attack\nTo execute this attack, a hacker must quickly relocate a genuine dialogue box and place a malicious element under the cursor while a victim is engaged with other seemingly harmless web elements. \n\nIf the trick succeeds, their victim will unconsciously click the malicious controls without realising any changes. To avoid detection, the hacker might quickly change the dialogue box back after the click.\n\n### Why Do People Clickjack?\nIn brief, Clickjacking is only done for profit gains. Since its initial first discovery back in 2002, many criminal hackers have embraced this fraudulent technique to achieve their malicious gains.\n\nA senior malware analyst, Roman Unuchek, reported on the SecureList blog in 2017, that the malware “Svpeng” was going viral. Svpeng is a malicious program that was first discovered in 2013. Its goal was to steal banking info from Android device users. \n\nOnce you downloaded the program on your device, Svpeng will then Clickjack your user data. But the problem went even deeper than just stealing your information. Once the malware gains admin privileges, it can decide which screen overlays to use, read contacts, make calls, send or receive text.\n\nAccording to senior malware analyst, Roman Unuchek, the Svpeng virus had spread across 23 countries within a single week. Also, while Android devices are seemingly the ones that are susceptible to UI redressing, this issue can still affect any machine that has access to the internet. It can affect any smartphone, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers.\n\n## Clickjacking Prevention\nOne form of UI redressing takes advantage of weaknesses which are present in web pages, and apps to allow hackers to manipulate our systems for their own benefit. For example, an infected page can trick you into performing undesired actions by clicking on the hidden scam links. \n\nMoreover, Clickjacking is considered very harmful to businesses. It is a sworn enemy of business flourishment—but thankfully—there’s a way to defend against it. Initially, there are 2-general ways you can protect yourself against Clickjacking.\n\nClient-side Procedures. The most prevalent method is known as Frame Busting. Although client-side procedures are often considered as, well, not the best practice since it’s easier to bypass them, these methods are still effective today in some instances. We have mentioned four of these methods below.\n\nServer-side Procedures. The X-Frame-Options procedure is the most prevalent server-side method. It is recommended by many cybersecurity professionals as an effective Clickjacking protection method.\n\n### Client-side Clickjacking Prevention\n\n__1. Defend Yourself With NoScript__\nDefending against [Clickjacking attacks](https://guard.io/blog/what-are-clickbait-ads) can be added to Mozilla, and maybe a few other desktop and mobile version browsers by adding the NoScript plugin. This browser security add-on has a feature called ClearClick that prevents you from clicking hidden or redressed web page elements of embedded applets.\n\nAccording to the browser security handbook, by Google, the NoScript’s feature ClearClick is an available free product that provides a reasonable degree of \nClickjacking protection.\n\n__2. Defend Yourself With [Guardio](https://guard.io/plans \"Guardio Plans page\")__\nGuardio is yet another advanced, lightweight web browser bodyguard that adds Client-side Clickjacking protection for those using Microsoft Edge, and Google Chrome, for example, without interfering with the functions of genuine iframes. This browser security extension is available for free, and paid premiums that come with a handful of helpful features and rewards.\n\n__3. Defend Yourself With Gazelle__\nThis thing is a Microsoft Research project web browser which uses an OS-like security model. Gazelle has its own limited protection against UI redressing. In this browser, a window of distinct kinds can only draw dynamic content over another window’s screen space if, say, the type of content it is drawing is opaque. \n\n__4. Defend Yourself With Intersection Observer__\nThe second version (Intersection Observer V2 API) introduced the concept of tracing the actual visibility of a target element, as anyone out there would define it. \n\nAlso, it allows a framed widget to sense if it’s being covered. This feature is often ‘ON’ by default since Google Chrome 74 which was introduced in the year 2019. Today, Google’s Chrome browser is the only web browser to implement the Intersection Observer V2 API. \n\n## Server-side Clickjacking Prevention\n__1. Using the Framekiller__\nFramekiller allows website owners to protect their users against Clickjacking on the Server-side. It achieves this by including a framekiller JavaScript snippet in pages in which they don’t want to be included in frames from distinct sources.\n\nHowever, such JavaScript-based protection against UI redressing is not often reliable. But this is particularly true on Internet Explorer where this type of countermeasure can be circumvented “by design” by including a targeted web page inside an