The Hidden Danger of PDF Files with Embedded QR Codes


The SonicWall Capture Labs threat research team has been observing PDF files with QR codes being abused by malware authors to deceive users for a long time.

QR codes are increasingly popular due to their versatility and ease of use. Beyond payments and feedback, QR codes have a wide range of applications across various industries such as marketing, retail, education, healthcare, hospitality, transportation, real estate, public services, entertainment, business operations, personal use etc. Malware authors are efficiently taking advantage of its popularity. Sonicwall researchers observed that a lot of PDF files are coming from emails (fax) containing QR Codes asking users to scan with smart phone camera.

Read more…
Source: Sonicwall


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Hit by wave of cyber attacks, Japan shifts to ‘active cyber defence’

    January 20, 2025

    apan aims to take a more proactive approach to cyber defence by allowing hackers working for the authorities to “attack” pre-emptively to prevent or stop sabotage attempts. Under a new strategy of “active cyber defence”, Japan plans to allow hackers working for the police or Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to infiltrate servers to neutralise the source ...

  • HPE’s sensitive data exposed in alleged IntelBroker hack

    January 20, 2025

    IntelBroker has struck again. This time, the notorious BreachForums bigwig, which has a long list of high-profile victims, including Europol, Cisco, and GE, has claimed to have breached IT giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). The suspected Serbian-origin hacker is offering to sell on BreachForums, sensitive data allegedly stolen from HPE including product source codes and personally ...

  • UAE Cyber Security Council calls for stronger vigilance amid growing AI-driven cyber attacks

    January 18, 2025

    The Cyber Security Council of the UAE Government has announced that the nation’s cybersecurity systems have successfully countered malicious ransomware attacks targeting several strategic sectors, including government and private entities. The Council revealed that the country’s emergency cyber-response systems, in collaboration with relevant authorities, have proactively and professionally intercepted and neutralised approximately 200,000 cyber attacks daily ...

  • Proof-of-Concept Exploit Released for CVE-2024-53691 in QNAP QTS and QuTS NAS

    January 17, 2025

    QNAP has released a security advisory addressing three vulnerabilities in the QTS and QuTS products. QTS and QuTS are the operating system for QNAP Network-attached storage (NAS) appliances. CVE-2023-39298 is a ‘Missing authorisation’ vulnerability with a CVSSv3 score of 7.8. If exploited, a local attacker with low privileges could access data or perform actions without proper ...

  • CIA employee pleads guilty over leak of classified Israeli plans

    January 17, 2025

    A CIA employee who was accused of leaking classified documents about Israel’s plans to strike Iran pleaded guilty on Friday to criminal charges that he willfully retained and transmitted national defense information, the U.S. Department of Justice said. In pleading guilty, Asif William Rahman, who worked at the U.S. intelligence agency since 2016, acknowledged that he ...

  • Mercedes-Benz Head Unit security research report

    January 17, 2025

    This report covers the research of the Mercedes-Benz Head Unit, which was made by Kaspersky team. Mercedes-Benz’s latest Head Unit (infotainment system) is called Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX). The researchers performed analysis of the first generation MBUX. MBUX was previously analysed by KeenLab. Their report is a good starting point for diving deep into the MBUX ...