Security News > 2023 > August > Major U.S. energy org targeted in QR code phishing attack
A phishing campaign was observed predominantly targeting a notable energy company in the US, employing QR codes to slip malicious emails into inboxes and bypass security.
According to Cofense, who spotted this campaign, this is the first time that QR codes have been used at this scale, indicating that more phishing actors may be testing their effectiveness as an attack vector.
The threat actors use QR codes embedded in images to bypass email security tools that scan a message for known malicious links, allowing the phishing messages to reach the target's inbox.
Hiding the redirection URL in the QR code, abusing legitimate services, and using base64 encoding for the phishing link all help evade detection and get through email protection filters.
QR codes have been used in phishing campaigns, albeit on a smaller scale, in the past, including one in France and one in Germany.
Apart from training, Cofense also suggests that organizations use image recognition tools as part of their phishing protection measures, although these are not guaranteed to catch all QR code threats.
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