The Security Risks Behind QR Codes

QR Codes are an everyday part of our daily lives. You can find them everywhere, from restaurants to parking meters, and even in your email. By scanning a QR Code, you can easily go directly to a website or get information without having to physically enter a URL.

Unfortunately, the convenience of using QR Codes has given cyber criminals the opportunity to take advantage of this. Cyber criminals have been able to create fake QR codes that when scanned, can take you to websites that are dangerous, steal your login credentials, or infect your computer with malware. This is sometimes called QR code phishing.

QR code phishing occurs when an attacker creates a QR code that directs someone to a malicious website. An attacker can design this fake website to appear very similar to a legitimate login page for services such as an email account, a bank account, etc.

After creating the fake website, the attacker will typically request the victim to provide personal data such as a username and password. As soon as the person provides their personal data, the data will be transmitted to the attacker rather than the real company. Microsoft says that QR code phishing has shifted the attacks from email platforms to mobile devices, since the URL of the malicious site can be much harder for the user to review prior to entering their personal information.

The simplest way to protect yourself from harm when using QR codes is to treat them as you would any other website link. Before opening the site, users should view the URL preview of the site on their phone and look for suspicious domain names, misspelled words, or anything else that seems unusual, as these could be signs that the website is not legitimate.

People should also be cautious with opening QR codes received unexpectedly through email, message, and package delivery. Users should keep their devices up to date and utilize security measures such as multi-factor authentication as an additional layer of security in the protection of their login credentials.

There are also a variety of security tools available to organizations that will allow them to scan the URLs of QR codes contained within email messages and determine whether those URLs are malicious prior to allowing users to click on them.

QR codes allow people to access websites and information more quickly. However, QR codes may also conceal where the user will be directed when scanning them. Due to the ability of QR codes to direct users to various locations, cybercriminals have taken advantage of QR codes to conduct phishing attacks, steal personal information, and carry out other scams.

With the increasing use of QR codes, both users and organizations must exercise caution when scanning QR codes. Verifying the destination of a QR code before scanning it and treating unfamiliar QR codes in the same way as suspicious links can reduce the risk of serious cybersecurity issues.