QR Code Security -- How Secure and Usable Apps Can Protect Users Against Malicious QR Codes

Abstract

QR codes have emerged as a popular medium to make content instantly accessible. With their high information density and robust error correction, they have found their way to the mobile ecosystem. However, QR codes have also proven to be an efficient attack vector, e.g. To perform phishing attacks. Attackers distribute malicious codes under false pretenses in busy places or paste malicious QR codes over already existing ones on billboards. Ultimately, people depend on reader software to ascertain if a given QR code is benign or malicious. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of QR code security. We determine why users are still susceptible to QR code based attacks and why currently deployed smartphone apps are unable to mitigate these attacks. Based on our findings, we present a set of design recommendations to build usable and secure mobile applications. To evaluate our guidelines, we implemented a prototype and found that secure and usable apps can effectively protect users from malicious QR codes.