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Phishing
QR CODES: CONVENIENCE OR CYBERTHREAT?
Security awareness and measures to detect and prevent sophisticated risks
associated with QR code-based phishing attacks (quishing)
By: Sara Atie July 23, 2024 Read time: 4 min (994 words)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evolving phishing threats, such as QR code attacks, pose significant risks to
organizations across various industries, including retail, healthcare,
construction, and engineering. Such modern attacks urge businesses targeted by
cybercriminals to adopt robust protection to safeguard sensitive information
against data breaches, exfiltration, un-authorization, or illegal access. These
vulnerabilities could further be leveraged for additional attacks.
QR code attacks on the rise
Phishing emails continues to be the number one attack vector for organizations.
A QR code phishing, or quishing attack, is a modern social engineering
cyberattack technique manipulating users into giving away personal and financial
information or downloading malware. It targets C-level executives and the
highest strategic roles within a company.
Quishing can bypass traditional security email gateways, evading email filtering
tools and identity authentication. This allows cyberattacks to move from a
protected email to the user’s less secure mobile device, where cybercriminals
can obtain confidential information, such as payment details, for fraudulent
purposes. For instance, a malicious QR code hidden in PDF or an image (JPEG/PNG)
file attached to an email can bypass email security protection, such as
filtering and flagging. This allows the email to be delivered directly to the
user’s inbox without being analyzed for clickable content.
According to Egress Report 2024, “phishing remains the top attack vector with
94% of organizations falling victim through modern attack techniques that have
expanded beyond email to collaboration tools and Cybersecurity leaders admitted
that they are stressed about email security.” Such attacks include compromised
supply chain email accounts and account takeovers (ATO). Research also
highlighted the impact of generative AI (GenAI) enabling attackers to develop
targeted phishing emails and produce malware. With GenAI, sophisticated threats
like QR code phishing, credential phishing, AI-based email threats, or business
email compromise (BEC) attacks continue to evolve. This increases the risk of
attack surface expansion in email and collaboration environments.
How can organizations mitigate the risk of QR code attacks?
Businesses are challenged to identify the risk and improve their security
posture to avoid the costs and implications of data leakage, reputational
consequences, IT downtime, and technological disruption.
To recognizing quishing, IT admin and SOC teams need real-time protection
capabilities to prevent QR code malicious attacks.
Common signs include:
1. Unusual sources. Be cautious of QR codes from unexpected or unverified
sources, such as random flyers, unsolicited emails, or unknown websites.
2. Too good to be true. Verify QR codes promising rewards, discounts, or
prizes—they could be traps. Scammers often use enticing offers to lure
victims.
3. Complex URLs. Inspect the URL embedded in the QR code. If it is excessively
long, convoluted, or contains random characters, it could lead to a phishing
site.
4. Misspellings or odd characters. Check for misspelled words or unusual
characters within the QR code. Legitimate companies usually pay attention to
details.
Employees require training to enhance their attentiveness in detecting quishing
when receiving QR code-based emails or accessing embedded links.
Common signs include:
1. No context. Exercise caution if the QR code lacks context or appears out of
place, such as QR codes randomly placed in a public area.
2. Web links. Avoid sites accessed through a QR codes that request payments.
Instead, enter a known and trusted URL for transactions.
3. Overlays. Be wary if the QR code is placed over existing signs or labels, as
scammers may try to cover up legitimate information.
4. Too much information: Be skeptical of QR codes that ask for excessive
permissions (e.g., access to your camera, contacts, or location) beyond what
is necessary.
The growing use of QR codes as a phishing vector underscores the importance of
vigilance and security awareness when scanning them.
A proactive approach to QR code-based phishing attacks (quishing)
Trend Vision One™ – Email and Collaboration Security enables you to swiftly
detect and respond to user-targeted threats. It disrupts the QR code phishing
attack chain, and allows you to streamline detections, risk posture, and
mitigation across your messaging environment.
Provide your team with enhanced security against malicious QR codes with
AI-powered advanced analytics and pre-delivery scanning designed to intercept
and neutralize phishing attacks before they reach your inbox.
Benefit from real-time extraction of QR code links from emails, followed by
comprehensive scanning and remediation actions on various file and image formats
(JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, .webP) to ensure security.
When an email body and/or email attachment containing a QR code is detected,
your IT admin can make contextualized decisions and take remedial actions
conveniently from a centralized platform.
These actions include:
* Tag subject
* Add disclaimer
* Pass
* Quarantine
* Delete
Email and Collaboration Security: Quishing Detection
Gaining visibility to the attack surface boosts contextualized decision making
Building awareness, granting visibility, and improving readiness require
embracing an agile approach with multi-layered security layers to detect,
prevent and respond to the rapidly changing attack landscape.
Through centralized management and advanced analytics, you can remove silos and
visibility gaps to effectively streamline your security operations.
Practices include:
* SOC teams can investigate the spread of an attack threat, eliminate blind
spots, identify users at-risk, and explore related threats by using platform
capabilities like XDR for advanced analytics and ASRM (attack surface risk
management) for deep insights
* IT admins can implement response plans. They can leverage this information to
lower the risk scores of users (i.e., employees at risk), make informed
decisions to tag or quarantine phishing emails, or force them to reset their
passwords and notify relevant security teams. Regular security audits can
help ensure that your response plan is effective
* IT admins can educate users on the risks associated with QR codes. They can
initiate personalized Security Awareness Training campaigns targeted at all
employees or high-risk user groups. You can now monitor training attendance
and completion as your training campaign progresses
By adopting these practices, you can improve the organization’s security
posture, reduce the risk of falling victim to QR code phishing attacks, and
improve your security awareness performance—all from a single platform.
Tags
Cloud | Web | Phishing | Ransomware | Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Security
Strategies | Articles, News, Reports
AUTHORS
* Sara Atie
Product Marketing Manager
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