The Hidden Threat That Tricks You into Clicking! 🤯🤯🤯

3 min readFeb 21, 2025

The Invisible Threat Lurking on the Web

In today’s digital landscape, cyber threats are evolving rapidly, and one of the most deceptive attacks is Clickjacking. This attack tricks users into clicking on something different from what they perceive, leading to unauthorized actions, stolen information, or even malware installation.

What is Clickjacking?

Clickjacking (short for “click hijacking”) is a UI redressing attack where an attacker overlays a transparent or disguised web page element over a legitimate-looking button or link. The user unknowingly interacts with the hidden malicious content instead of the expected action.

For example, a user might think they are clicking a “Play” button on a video, but in reality, they are clicking an invisible “Confirm Transaction” button that transfers money to an attacker’s account.

How Attackers Exploit Clickjacking

Clickjacking can be used for various malicious purposes, such as:

Stealing credentials — Attackers overlay login forms on trusted websites, tricking users into entering their usernames and passwords.
Enabling webcam/microphone access — Users might unknowingly grant permission to their device’s camera or microphone.
Liking/sharing malicious content — Attackers force users to like or share content on social media platforms without consent.
Triggering financial transactions — Online banking users may unknowingly transfer money or change account settings.

How to Identify a Clickjacking Attempt

While Clickjacking is often invisible, users can take precautions to detect suspicious websites:

Use browser security extensions — Extensions like NoScript or uBlock Origin can help prevent malicious overlays.
Try selecting the page — Clicking and dragging over a page can sometimes reveal hidden elements.
Check the website’s security — Ensure URLs are correct and avoid interacting with pop-ups on untrusted sites.
Use keyboard shortcuts instead of buttons — Manually typing website URLs and avoiding suspicious links can reduce risk.

Sample Clickjacking Code

A basic example of Clickjacking involves an attacker embedding a legitimate website within an invisible iframe:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Clickjacking Example</title>
    <style>
        iframe {
            opacity: 0;
            position: absolute;
            top: 0;
            left: 0;
            width: 100%;
            height: 100%;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>Click the button to win a prize!</h2>
    <button>Click Here</button>
    <iframe src="https://yourbank.com/transfer?amount=1000" ></iframe>
</body>
</html>

In this example, users think they are clicking a harmless button, but they are actually interacting with a hidden banking transaction page.

How to Protect Against Clickjacking

Organizations and developers can mitigate Clickjacking risks by implementing security measures such as:

X-Frame-Options Header — Prevents the webpage from being embedded within an iframe:

X-Frame-Options: DENY

Content Security Policy (CSP) Frame Ancestors — Specifies allowed sources for embedding content:

Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors 'self';

JavaScript Frame Busting — Prevents rendering of the page in an iframe:

if (window.top !== window.self) {     window.top.location = window.self.location; }

Conclusion

Clickjacking is a silent but dangerous attack that can trick users into performing unintended actions. By staying vigilant, using security measures, and following best practices, both users and developers can reduce the risks associated with this exploit.

Have you ever encountered a suspicious website that might have been using Clickjacking? Share your thoughts in the comments!