Are QR codes safe? Best practices for ensuring QR code security

Today's smartphone-centric world is becoming increasingly familiar with QR codes.

QR codes are no longer used solely for what they were originally created for: tracking inventory in factories. They are now leveraged in many ways, from marketing and real estate to digital business cards and smart packaging.

Along with this increase in adoption of QR codes by businesses and users, there are growing concerns about the privacy and security of using QR codes. This is mainly due to attackers using the technology as a ploy to install malware or gain unauthorized access to personal and financial data.

So are QR codes safe? And can they be dangerous?

To allay any concerns about deploying or scanning QR codes for your business, here's a long story: As a technology, QR codes are inherently safe and secure.

But the devil is in the smallest details. Let's go into the details of QR code security first.

What are QR codes?

QR codes, in their original and most basic form, are square configurations of composite black and white squares with data encoded within them.

They were developed to hold more information and data formats than their less developed predecessor, the barcode. The ability to be easily read by a scanner was also essential for Masahiro Hara at Denso Wave, the man behind the QR technology. Therefore, the proper full form of QR is "Quick Reply".

And today, nearly 25 years after their introduction to the automotive supply industry, QR codes have found their way into different industries and business functions.

They now offer businesses a way to take their audience offline to online, allowing them to anchor endless digital content to physical touchpoints. Coupled with the ability to create personalized QR codes by customizing the color and design of the code, QR codes have become a favorite for brands looking to engage their customers in new ways.

Adoption of QR code

In the few years leading up to the contactless world brought on by COVID, QR codes saw a gradual increase in adoption and usage.

The main reason for this?

The QR code scanning functionality was no longer limited to third-party apps on smartphones. Users could pull out their smartphone, load the native smartphone camera app, point to the code - and voila - they were on their way to the encoded content!

The pandemic quickly fueled this resurgence. COVID's no-contact requirements meant restaurants - an industry largely dependent on people eating out - had to ensure all contact was avoided where possible. This is how the contactless version of the old paper menu card was born, the QR code menu.

And over time, contactless COVID protocols have brought new use cases to light in different settings. The use of QR codes has now expanded to include CPG packaging, inventory tracking, digital business cards, and more.

Along with this rise in QR code adoption, hackers, cybercriminals, and online scammers are increasingly using this technology. Should any of these mandates apply to you if you scan a QR code or use one in your marketing campaign?

Let's take it a step further.

Are QR codes secure?

As mentioned earlier, QR codes are inherently a secure technology. They simply direct users to the encoded data in their native smartphone camera apps or standalone QR code readers. This data can be in the form of a website URL, PDF file, landing page, questionnaire, video or audio file, etc. The use cases are nearly endless.

But wouldn't that be like manually typing a website address into a browser or clicking a link to a landing page, quiz, or video?

Yeah.

Only, in this case, scanning the QR code does the heavy lifting by manually typing or clicking the links.

Essentially, a QR code is simply a gateway that takes users from a physical touchpoint to a digital destination. No manual effort is required from the user. Just point your camera at the displayed code.

Since QR codes are, at their most basic level, a physical-to-digital medium, they cannot pose a security threat until users enter the digital world through them. This is similar to the exposure or vulnerability you would have while browsing the web casually on your smartphone, tablet or computer - nothing more.

But since they are widely deployed as a digital portal into the physical world, attackers with i...