Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

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

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This discussion has been archived.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.
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 HiThere on Wednesday September 23 2020, @01:58PM (1 child)

    by HiThere (866) on Wednesday September 23 2020, @01:58PM (#1055493) Journal

    Then you need to type in the address....well, first you need to copy it down somewhere so you don't lose it while you're typing it in (depends on application, of course). QR codes were designed to allow easy scanning to avoid the typing, which to me sure makes sense on a phone. (I find phone keyboards almost unusable.)

    N.B.: I'm *not* claiming that they don't have all the defects mentioned. Just that offering the address isn't an adequate replacement. And personally I have never used them, so this is a be theoretical.

    --
    Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:56PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:56PM (#1056259)

    OCR + URL format detection shouldn't be hard nowadays.