Quishing Alert: Experts Advise Caution Before Scanning QR Codes

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   • What are QR codes?
   • The convenience and popularity of QR codes
   • The rise of quishing attacks through QR codes
2. The Growing Threat of Quishing Attacks
   • Targeted attacks against mobile devices
   • The susceptibility of mobile devices to phishing attacks
   • The exponential rise in quishing attacks
3. Understanding Quishing Attacks
   • QR phishing as an effective attack vector
   • Challenges for anti-phishing systems in scanning QR codes
   • The increasing prevalence of smartphones with built-in QR code scanners
4. Phishing as a Major Concern
   • Phishing responsible for a significant number of attacks and breaches
   • The increasing prevalence of QR code-based attacks
   • Detection of malicious QR code samples on the rise
5. The Risk of Quishing and the Role of Recipients
   • Quishing as a bypass for existing security controls
   • The importance of recipient awareness and understanding
   • Clicking on malicious URLs as a top risk for account takeovers
6. Quishing for Credentials
   • The attractiveness of QR codes for malicious actors
   • The use of QR codes in credential phishing attacks
   • The challenges in detecting QR code-based attacks
7. Embedded QR Threats
   • QR codes on personal phones as a challenge for companies
   • Difficulties in extracting and scanning URLs from QR codes
   • The blending of malicious QR codes with legitimate marketing campaigns
8. The Agility and Efficiency of QR Code Attacks
   • QR code attacks evading human detection and traditional security tools
   • The minimal text content and absence of obvious malicious URLs
   • The effectiveness of QR code attacks compared to traditional attack types
9. Best Practices for QR Code Safety
   • Personalized targeting and newly created sender domains
   • Decreasing detection likelihood by traditional email security solutions
   • The impersonation of internal IT teams and two-factor authentication
10. Technology Solutions and Simple Rules
    • Addressing potential QR code-based attacks with technology solutions
    • Following simple rules to mitigate risks
    • Knowing and trusting the source of QR codes
11. Conclusion
    • The need for caution when scanning QR codes
    • The importance of understanding the risks associated with QR codes
    • Vigilance in protecting against quishing attacks

1. Introduction

QR codes, or Quick Response codes, have gained significant popularity due to their convenience in various applications such as website access, app downloads, and menu viewing at restaurants. However, this rise in usage has also made QR codes an attractive tool for malicious actors to steal credentials, infect mobile devices, and invade corporate systems. As a result, the security community is witnessing an exponential increase in targeted attacks against mobile devices, with a majority of phishing sites specifically targeting smartphones. This article will delve into the growing threat of quishing attacks through QR codes and provide expert advice on how to mitigate the risks associated with scanning QR codes.

2. The Growing Threat of Quishing Attacks

Mobile devices have become prime targets for phishing attacks, primarily due to their susceptibility. The convenience and widespread usage of smartphones make them an ideal platform for attackers to exploit. Zimperium, a mobile security company, highlights the exponential uptick in targeted attacks against mobile devices, especially phishing attacks. Quishing attacks, which utilize QR codes as an attack vector, have seen a significant rise in recent months. Reliaquest, a security automation and risk management company, reported a 51% increase in quishing attacks in September alone.

3. Understanding Quishing Attacks

QR phishing, or quishing, has emerged as a highly effective attack vector for malicious actors. Attackers can distribute QR codes widely, taking advantage of the fact that many corporate anti-phishing systems are not equipped to scan QR codes. The increasing prevalence of smartphones with built-in QR code scanners or free scanning apps has further contributed to the rise of quishing attacks. This ease of scanning QR codes without considering their legitimacy has made individuals more vulnerable to phishing attempts.

4. Phishing as a Major Concern

Phishing attacks continue to be a significant concern in the cybersecurity landscape. Shyava Tripathi, a researcher at Trellix, notes that phishing is responsible for over a third of all attacks and breaches. Trellix detected over 60,000 malicious QR code samples in Q3 alone, indicating the increasing prevalence of QR code-based attacks. The ability of attackers to mimic legitimate marketing campaigns using QR codes makes it challenging for individuals to distinguish between malicious and benign codes.

5. The Risk of Quishing and the Role of Recipients

Quishing represents a risk that can bypass existing security controls. Steve Jeffery, a solutions engineer at Fortra, emphasizes the importance of recipient understanding and awareness to mitigate this risk. Clicking on malicious URLs remains one of the top risks for account takeovers, with attackers now using QR codes to deliver phishing URLs instead of hyperlinks. Traditional email security systems often fail to read the contents of QR codes, making it difficult to prevent the ingress of these malicious messages.

6. Quishing for Credentials

Quishing attacks primarily focus on stealing credentials. Mike Britton, the CISO of Abnormal Security, highlights that approximately 80% of all QR code-based attacks involve credential phishing. Invoice fraud and extortion are also commonly observed attack types. Attackers find QR codes an attractive tactic due to the difficulty in detecting the resulting destination. The absence of obvious malicious URLs and minimal text content significantly reduces the signals available for traditional security tools to detect and analyze these attacks.

7. Embedded QR Threats

QR code phishing scams pose a challenge for companies as individuals often scan QR codes on their personal phones, which are usually not monitored by security teams. Randy Pargman, director for threat detection at Proofpoint, explains that extracting and scanning URLs from QR codes is not easy, making it difficult to detect phishing URLs embedded within them. Moreover, legitimate marketing campaigns frequently use QR codes, making it harder to differentiate between malicious and benign codes.

8. The Agility and Efficiency of QR Code Attacks

QR code attacks have proven to be highly effective, primarily due to their ability to evade both human detection and traditional security tools. The absence of obvious malicious URLs and minimal text content make it challenging for security systems to detect and analyze these attacks. Attackers can easily distribute QR codes and exploit their widespread usage, resulting in a higher success rate compared to traditional attack types.

9. Best Practices for QR Code Safety

Addressing potential QR code-based attacks requires a comprehensive approach. Darktrace, a cybersecurity AI company, emphasizes the need for rigorous image recognition techniques to mitigate risks associated with malicious QR codes. Attackers often accompany quishing attacks with personalized targeting and newly created sender domains, decreasing the likelihood of detection by traditional email security solutions. Impersonation of internal IT teams and two-factor authentication processes are common techniques used by attackers to deceive individuals.

10. Technology Solutions and Simple Rules

Various technology solutions aim to address the risks associated with QR code-based attacks. However, individuals can also follow simple rules to enhance their safety. Christopher Budd, leader of the X-Ops team at Sophos, advises individuals to question the legitimacy of QR codes and consider the source before scanning them. By avoiding QR codes in suspicious locations or from unknown sources, individuals can mitigate the risks associated with quishing attacks.