Around the World in 90 Days: State-Sponsored Actors Try ClickFix

Description

Multiple state-sponsored threat actors from North Korea, Iran, and Russia have been observed adopting the ClickFix social engineering technique, previously associated with cybercriminal activities. Over a three-month period from late 2024 to early 2025, groups such as TA427, TA450, UNK_RemoteRogue, and TA422 incorporated ClickFix into their existing infection chains. The technique involves using dialogue boxes with instructions for targets to copy, paste, and run malicious commands on their machines. While the adoption of ClickFix hasn't revolutionized these groups' campaigns, it has replaced installation and execution stages in their existing processes. This trend highlights the fluidity of tactics among threat actors and the potential for wider adoption of ClickFix by other state-sponsored groups in the future.