Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

QR Code Use Grows in Popularity but Poses Hidden Risks

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday September 22 2020, @09:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-scan-random-things dept.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

QR code use grows in popularity but poses hidden risks:

The use of QR codes has risen during the pandemic as they offer a perfect solution to contactless interaction. But many employees are also using their mobile devices to scan QR codes for personal use, putting themselves and enterprise resources at risk.

A new study from security platform MobileIron shows that 84 percent of people have scanned a QR code before, with 32 percent having done so in the past week and 26 percent in the past month.

In the last six months, 38 percent of respondents say they have scanned a QR code at a restaurant, bar or café, 37 percent at a retailer and 32 percent on a consumer product. It's clear that codes are popular and 53 percent of respondents want to see them used more broadly in the future. 43 percent plan to use a QR code as a payment method in the near future and 40 percent of people would be willing to vote using a QR code received in the mail, if it was an option.

However, QR codes are a tempting attack route for hackers too as the mobile user interface prompts users to take immediate actions, while limiting the amount of information available before, for example, visiting a website.

Have any Soylentils done anything interesting with QR codes?

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
QR Code Use Grows in Popularity but Poses Hidden Risks | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 34 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by gringer on Wednesday September 23 2020, @03:29AM (2 children)

    by gringer (962) on Wednesday September 23 2020, @03:29AM (#1055226)

    If your QR code app is showing the website title, it means it has visited the link. I've experimented with a barcode app I have on my phone and have noticed that I can create a link in a QR code that logs QR code use to my web server without any user authorisation (apart from using the app to look at the code).

    --
    Ask me about Sequencing DNA in front of Linus Torvalds [youtube.com]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday September 23 2020, @09:48AM (1 child)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Wednesday September 23 2020, @09:48AM (#1055342)

    It shows the URL, not the website's content. As in "This QR code has this URL encoded in it: tap here if you want to open it".

    • (Score: 2) by gringer on Sunday September 27 2020, @09:20AM

      by gringer (962) on Sunday September 27 2020, @09:20AM (#1057584)

      Good. Your app is different from mine then - as well as the URL, mine shows the title, which requires visiting the site to work out, which means that parameters encoded into the URL can be used for storing information about use of the QR code.

      --
      Ask me about Sequencing DNA in front of Linus Torvalds [youtube.com]