The majority of users are unaware of the features and risks hidden in the use of QR Codes
Ivanti Inc., the automation platform that helps make every IT connection smarter and more secure, presented the results of a study on consumer sentiment, which found the growing popularity of QR Code use. 57% of respondents in fact, he declared that he had noticed an increase in use starting from the middle of March 2020. Following the pandemic, 83% of respondents said they had made, for the first time, a payment through a QR Code and, of these, more than half (54%) used it for financial reasons in the last three months.
This study, which follows the report released in September 2020, outlines the evolution of consumer attitudes and the use of QR codes over the last year. Research shows that the use of QR Codes by consumers is no longer just linked to the convenience of using contactless mode but is strongly determined by this new normality. If at the beginning of the pandemic QR Codes were mainly used as a payment method in restaurants, in the following months consumers began to use them for practical purposes, such as booking doctor visits and picking up prescriptions, showing an increase from 9% in 2020 to 14% in 2021. Over the last few months, 65% of consumers have noticed an increase in environments where it is possible to use QR Codes for payments, with 87% of them feeling comfortable completing a financial transaction through this payment method.
Due to the pandemic, many organizations have continued to implement ways of working remotely, allowing employees to access corporate data and applications with their devices wherever they are. Although 39% of users rely on their mobile device to connect and interact with others, only 51% of respondents installed security software on it. Added to this is the lack of awareness of employees on the possible threats that scanning a QR Code can carry, both for themselves and for the company. In fact, 31% of respondents claimed to have scanned a malicious QR Code and subsequently been directed to a suspicious website.
Below are some data that show how the user can put himself and his company at risk by scanning a QR code:
- 47% of respondents said they know that a QR Code can open a URL.
- Only 37% are aware that a QR Code can download an application and only 22% know that it can provide their geolocation.
- Two-thirds of respondents are able to identify a malicious URL, but only 39% said they can identify a malicious QR Code.
- 49% said they don't know if their device comes with security software.
“As a result of the pandemic, employees have increased the use of their mobile devices to access corporate data and services in the Everywhere Workplace,” he said Chris Goettl, Senior Director of Product Management di Ivanti. "In parallel, the increase in popularity of QR Codes will certainly be exploited by cybercriminals with the aim of stealing company data. This report highlights the importance of assigning an absolute priority to the security of mobile, private and corporate devices. To defend their employees from QRLjacking and phishing attacks, organizations should implement Mobile Threat Defense (MTD)".
Ivanti offers a solution Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) which detects and remediates attacks against Android and iOS devices, networks and applications. And no end-user action is required to deploy MTD to mobile devices that are enrolled in Ivanti's UEM client. As a result, organizations can achieve 100% user utilization with no impact on productivity. Mobile Threat Defense is part of a broader Zero Trust security strategy aimed at ensuring the correct posture of devices.
I study involved 4,157 professionals in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, China and Japan.
