Agent skill

Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway

by mukul975 in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills

Detect and block spearphishing emails that use personalized, researched content to evade generic spam filters, by configuring email security gateway (SEG) impersonation protection, URL rewriting…

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedSecurity

Install Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway

skills CLI
$ npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway .claude/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway
GitHub stars
34k
Token cost
~1.4k tokens
SKILL.md length
402 words
Files
8 (incl. scripts, references, assets)
Skills in repo
644
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Detect and block spearphishing emails that use personalized, researched content to evade generic spam filters, by configuring email security gateway (SEG) impersonation protection, URL rewriting…

  • Works in 5 steps: Configure Impersonation Protection → Configure URL Protection → Configure Attachment Sandboxing → …
  • Hardening a mail gateway against targeted phishing
  • SKILL.md covers Overview, When to Use, Prerequisites and Key Concepts, plus 3 more sections
  • Runs Python scripts from its folder

What it does

Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Detect and block spearphishing emails that use personalized, researched content to evade generic spam filters, by configuring email security gateway (SEG) impersonation protection, URL rewriting, attachment sandboxing, and custom detection rules in Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint, Mimecast, or Barracuda. Use when hardening a mail gateway against targeted phishing or investigating a suspected spearphishing campaign.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 10 other files, including scripts, reference files and assets (for example `assets/template.md`, `references/api-reference.md` and `references/standards.md`).

It sits in Security, covering Cloud office suites. It works with Microsoft Defender and Microsoft 365. The repository describes itself as: 817 structured cybersecurity skills for AI agents · Mapped to 6 frameworks: MITRE ATT&CK, NIST CSF 2.0, MITRE ATLAS, D3FEND, NIST AI RMF & MITRE F3 (Fight Fraud) · agentskills.io…. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Hardening a mail gateway against targeted phishing
  • Investigating a suspected spearphishing campaign

Example prompts

  • “/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Configure Impersonation Protection
  2. Configure URL Protection
  3. Configure Attachment Sandboxing
  4. Create Custom Detection Rules
  5. Configure Alert and Response Actions

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 54a7988. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 2 files in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

    • security.microsoft.com
    • proofpoint.com
    • mimecast.com
    • barracuda.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway loads about 1.4k tokens when it runs, and up to ~3.5k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 119 tokens; SKILL.md has 402 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~119
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.4k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~3.5k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills at commit 54a7988, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© mukul975). 402 words, ~1,388 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 7 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway
description
Detect and block spearphishing emails that use personalized, researched content to evade generic spam filters, by configuring email security gateway (SEG) impersonation protection, URL rewriting, attachment sandboxing, and custom detection rules in Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint, Mimecast, or Barracuda. Use when hardening a mail gateway against targeted phishing or investigating a suspected spearphishing campaign.
domain
cybersecurity
subdomain
phishing-defense
tags
phishing, email-security, social-engineering, dmarc, awareness, spearphishing, email-gateway
version
1.0
author
mahipal
license
Apache-2.0
nist_csf
PR.AT-01, DE.CM-09, RS.CO-02, DE.AE-02
mitre_attack
T1566.001, T1566.002, T1204.001, T1204.002
mitre_f3.version
1.1
mitre_f3.tactics
reconnaissance, initial-access, stealth, resource-development

Detecting Spearphishing with Email Gateway

Overview

Spearphishing targets specific individuals using personalized, researched content that bypasses generic spam filters. Email security gateways (SEGs) like Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint, Mimecast, and Barracuda provide advanced detection capabilities including behavioral analysis, URL detonation, attachment sandboxing, and impersonation detection. This skill covers configuring these gateways to detect and block targeted phishing attacks.

When to Use

  • When investigating security incidents that require detecting spearphishing with email gateway
  • When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
  • When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
  • When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques

Prerequisites

  • Access to email security gateway admin console
  • Understanding of email flow architecture (MX records, transport rules)
  • Familiarity with SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication
  • Knowledge of common spearphishing techniques and pretexts

Key Concepts

Spearphishing Characteristics
  • Targeted recipients: Specific individuals, often executives or finance staff
  • Researched pretexts: References to real projects, colleagues, or events
  • Impersonation: Spoofs trusted senders (CEO, vendor, partner)
  • Low volume: Few emails to avoid pattern-based detection
  • Urgent tone: Creates pressure to act quickly
Gateway Detection Layers
  1. Reputation filtering: IP/domain/URL reputation scoring
  2. Authentication checks: SPF, DKIM, DMARC validation
  3. Content analysis: NLP-based analysis of email body
  4. Impersonation detection: Display name and domain similarity matching
  5. URL analysis: Real-time URL detonation and redirect following
  6. Attachment sandboxing: Behavioral analysis of attachments in isolated environments
  7. Behavioral analytics: Anomaly detection in communication patterns

Workflow

Step 1: Configure Impersonation Protection
Microsoft Defender for Office 365:
  Security > Anti-phishing policies > Impersonation settings
  - Enable user impersonation protection for VIPs
  - Enable domain impersonation protection
  - Add protected users (CEO, CFO, HR Director)
  - Set action: Quarantine message

Proofpoint:
  Email Protection > Impostor Classifier
  - Enable display name spoofing detection
  - Configure lookalike domain detection
  - Set Impostor threshold sensitivity
Show full SKILL.md (160 more words)Show less
Step 2: Configure URL Protection
  • Enable Safe Links / URL rewriting
  • Enable time-of-click URL detonation
  • Block newly registered domains (< 30 days)
  • Enable URL redirect chain following
Step 3: Configure Attachment Sandboxing
  • Enable Safe Attachments / attachment sandboxing
  • Configure dynamic delivery (deliver body, hold attachments)
  • Set sandbox detonation timeout to 60+ seconds
  • Block macro-enabled Office documents from external senders
Step 4: Create Custom Detection Rules

Use the scripts/process.py to analyze email gateway logs, identify spearphishing patterns, and generate custom detection rules.

Step 5: Configure Alert and Response Actions
  • Real-time alerts for impersonation attempts
  • Automatic quarantine for high-confidence detections
  • User notification with safety tips
  • Integration with SIEM for correlation

Tools & Resources

Validation

  • Impersonation protection correctly identifies spoofed VIP display names
  • URL detonation catches malicious links in test phishing emails
  • Attachment sandboxing detects weaponized documents
  • Custom rules trigger on known spearphishing patterns
  • SIEM integration receives gateway alerts

© mukul975, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 7 other files (scripts, references, assets) in skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • LICENSE
  • assets/template.md
  • references/api-reference.md
  • references/standards.md
  • references/workflows.md
  • scripts/agent.py
  • scripts/process.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 54a7988

Compare with similar skills

Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway this skillmukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills34k—~1.4kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Cloud App Security Posturevinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills175—~2.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Sentinelvinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills175—~2.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Defender Xdrvinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills175—~2.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Copilot For M365 Readinessvinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills175—~2.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Defender For Office 365vinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills175—~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway

What does Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway do?

Detect and block spearphishing emails that use personalized, researched content to evade generic spam filters, by configuring email security gateway (SEG) impersonation protection, URL rewriting…. Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Detect and block spearphishing emails that use personalized, researched content to evade generic spam filters, by configuring email security gateway (SEG) impersonation protection, URL rewriting, attachment sandboxing, and custom detection rules in Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint, Mimecast, or Barracuda.

When should I use Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway?

Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway fits situations like: hardening a mail gateway against targeted phishing; investigating a suspected spearphishing campaign.

How do I install Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .claude/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .agents/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway, .gemini/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway, .github/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway and .opencode/skills/detecting-spearphishing-with-email-gateway in your project.

What does Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway needs Python for the scripts in its folder. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway access the network?

SKILL.md names 4 domains. As links in the text: security.microsoft.com, proofpoint.com, mimecast.com and barracuda.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway use?

Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway use?

About 1.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 2.1k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway: Cloud App Security Posture (vinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills, 175 stars), Sentinel (vinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills, 175 stars), Defender Xdr (vinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills, 175 stars) and Copilot For M365 Readiness (vinayaklatthe/microsoft-security-skills, 175 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Detecting Spearphishing With Email Gateway?

mukul975 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills, which has 34,116 GitHub stars. The repository holds 644 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 31, 2026.

Source: mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.