New Generation Attack 'Quishing'

Recently, the use of QR codes to distribute malicious data increased by 42 times in the fourth quarter of 2023, especially against managers who were exposed to QR code phishing compared to the average employee.

Email attacks based on QR codes increased in the last quarter; The attackers specifically targeted corporate executives and managers, reinforcing recommendations that companies place additional digital protections around business leaders.

Worse still, phishing emails using QR codes (aka “quishing”) can often slip through spam filters, with attacks targeting Microsoft 365 and DocuSign users successfully reaching email inboxes, according to a report published this week by provider Abnormal Security. According to Monique Becenti, product director at mobile security firm Zimperium, “The success rate of phishing with QR codes will surpass traditional phishing methods because these codes often bypass users' typical suspicion triggers, such as typos in the URL, making them more likely to be scanned.”

Some of the precautions we need to take to protect ourselves from this type of attacks:

• Update your system regularly with the latest version,

• Do not open e-mail messages with QR codes from unknown sources.

• Install a QR scanner for security. Use QR scanner applications that check the security of the connection,

• Use multi-factor authentication.

For detailed information, you can contact our experts at ticket@zerosecond.com.tr.