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Cyber Sitrep · Yesterday · 19 min

QR Code Nightmares

QR codes were designed to make accessing information fast, simple, and convenient. Today, they're everywhere—restaurants, parking meters, payments, advertisements, event tickets, authentication systems, and even cybersecurity workflows. Unfortunately, attackers noticed that convenience too. In this episode of Cyber Sitrep, Eric and Mike dive into QR Code Nightmares: where QR codes came from, why they've become so widely used, and how the same technology can be abused to hide malicious destinations, redirect users to convincing phishing pages, or trick someone into trusting a link they can't actually see. Unlike a traditional link, a QR code asks you to scan first and find out where you're going second—which creates some interesting security problems as QR codes become increasingly common. We also look at the other side of the story: QR codes aren't inherently dangerous. They're an incredibly useful technology. The challenge is understanding when—and where—you should trust one. 💬 Do you check where a QR code is taking you before opening the link? New episodes of Cyber Sitrep release every Wednesday at 1 PM Mountain Time. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next episode. #CyberSitrep #Cybersecurity #QRCodeSecurity Links: Corvus website: https://www.corvus-tech.net/ Digital Beachhead website: https://digitalbeachhead.com/ The Cyber Sitrep brings you all the latest cybersecurity news, commentary, and threat intelligence. Focused on small to midsize businesses who we feel have been left behind. Hosted by Eric from Corvus Technologies and Mike from Digital Beachhead who bring their unique perspective based on their military and cybersecurity experience. If you want to understand more about how cybersecurity is important to your organization, enjoy funny tales or just want to learn more about the field of cybersecurity this is the podcast for you.

0:00-19:45

transcript

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show notes

QR codes were designed to make accessing information fast, simple, and convenient. Today, they're everywhere—restaurants, parking meters, payments, advertisements, event tickets, authentication systems, and even cybersecurity workflows. Unfortunately, attackers noticed that convenience too. In this episode of Cyber Sitrep, Eric and Mike dive into QR Code Nightmares: where QR codes came from, why they've become so widely used, and how the same technology can be abused to hide malicious destinations, redirect users to convincing phishing pages, or trick someone into trusting a link they can't actually see. Unlike a traditional link, a QR code asks you to scan first and find out where you're going second—which creates some interesting security problems as QR codes become increasingly common. We also look at the other side of the story: QR codes aren't inherently dangerous. They're an incredibly useful technology. The challenge is understanding when—and where—you should trust one. 💬 Do you check where a QR code is taking you before opening the link? New episodes of Cyber Sitrep release every Wednesday at 1 PM Mountain Time. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next episode. #CyberSitrep #Cybersecurity #QRCodeSecurity Links: Corvus website: https://www.corvus-tech.net/ Digital Beachhead website: https://digitalbeachhead.com/ The Cyber Sitrep brings you all the latest cybersecurity news, commentary, and threat intelligence. Focused on small to midsize businesses who we feel have been left behind. Hosted by Eric from Corvus Technologies and Mike from Digital Beachhead who bring their unique perspective based on their military and cybersecurity experience. If you want to understand more about how cybersecurity is important to your organization, enjoy funny tales or just want to learn more about the field of cybersecurity this is the podcast for you.

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