 Experts are warning of the latest cyber threat to smartphone users – quishing. Quishing uses the humble QR code to carry out a phishing attack, usually either to trick people into revealing sensitive information or infecting devices with malware. In 2019, the QR code – short for quick response – was all but extinct. Invented in 1994 to track vehicles during manufacturing in Japan, they had slowly spread across the globe and were expected to take off in an increasingly digital world. However, even after Apple gave the iPhone a QR code scanner in 2017 they were still far from ubiquitous – until Covid arrived, and suddenly we were scanning them left, right and centre to prove we were virus-free or get into restaurants. With the habit still strong and QRs everywhere from loyalty cards to adverts on the bus, cyber criminals are jumping on the bandwagon. 'Everyone with a smartphone happily scans a QR code, whether that be at a restaurant or museum or even to tip buskers on the street,' said quishing expert Tim Callan, chief experience officer at technology firm Sectigo. 'While QR codes do have their benefit, their rising popularity means they have also entered into the cybercriminals' arsenal of weapons. The Covid pandemic saved the QR code from extinction (Picture: Getty/iStockphoto) 'It is worryingly easy for bad actors to falsify links and addresses. A bad QR code could infect your device or make you click on a link to a dangerous website.' To avoid falling for a quishing scam, Mr Callan recommends avoiding QRs you can't fully trust. 'To avoid quishing scams users shouldn't scan any QR codes where you cannot easily verify the identity of the end user,' he said. 'Think carefully before scanning QR codes in public places, such as for promotional posters, stickers and adverts. Consider instead looking up the organisation directly through a secure browser. 'Treat what you see in sites you access through unsolicited QR codes with a grain){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Experts are warning of the latest cyber threat to smartphone users – quishing.
Quishing uses the humble QR code to carry out a phishing attack, usually either to trick people into revealing sensitive information or infecting devices with malware.
In 2019, the QR code – short for quick response – was all but extinct. Invented in 1994 to track vehicles during manufacturing in Japan, they had slowly spread across the globe and were expected to take off in an increasingly digital world.
However, even after Apple gave the iPhone a QR code scanner in 2017 they were still far from ubiquitous – until Covid arrived, and suddenly we were scanning them left, right and centre to prove we were virus-free or get into restaurants.