{"id":11658,"date":"2026-03-03T10:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/?p=11658"},"modified":"2026-03-03T10:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:36:15","slug":"qr-code-phishing-not-with-retarus-advanced-threat-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/qr-code-phishing-not-with-retarus-advanced-threat-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"QR code phishing? Not with Retarus Advanced Threat Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>QR code phishing, also commonly known as \u201cquishing\u201d, currently ranks among the most devious phishing variants. With the malicious link is not directly recognizable as text in the email, but rather concealed within an image file, these attacks are particularly treacherous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more, users often click on these codes using private or insufficiently protected mobile devices. It\u2019s this shift in the attack path that makes QR code phishing so dangerous. The actual attack happens outside the protected company environment. In this way, the mode of attack deliberately circumvents conventional security mechanisms in several ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-multi-layer-screening-ensures-optimum-protection\">Multi-layer screening ensures optimum protection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At Retarus, however, we rely on our battle-tested and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/why-true-email-security-requires-a-multi-vendor-approach\/\">consistently multi-layer approach<\/a> to combat QR code phishing. Rather than relying on just a single source of data, our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/products\/email-security\/advanced-threat-protection\/\">Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)<\/a> combines a number of powerful analysis techniques. Working together, these methods deliver a thoroughly substantiated, inherently consistent assessment which optimizes security while also ensuring extremely low false positive rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our quishing prevention tools include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hash-based file check: <\/strong>If a QR code has previously been identified as a malicious image, it is reliably identified and blocked based on its \u201cfile fingerprint.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI-powered AntiPhishing analysis:<\/strong> powerful engines examine the structural features of emails, analyze their content and apply heuristic and behavior-based criteria.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sandbox analysis: <\/strong>At Retarus, all emails are subjected to smart <em>prefiltering<\/em>. This ensures that only those messages where more in-depth examination is likely to add value are sent to the sandbox \u2013 just one of the many secrets behind our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/rapid-email-security-throughput-times-protection-meets-speed\/\">unrivalled throughput times<\/a>. Needless to say, this also applies to emails containing QR codes. Where necessary, the sandbox also assists in checking shortened URLs to reveal masked destination addresses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The seamless interaction of the various scanning algorithms plays a crucial role in these efforts. In practice, the QR code itself is seldom the only red flag prompting cause for suspicion. These messages often also display other indicators of malevolence, for example in the header, the message structure, or the overall character and nature of the email. Our multi-layered approach to analyzing messages ensures that outcomes are never viewed in isolation but always assessed against the broader context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-quishing-protection-forms-part-of-retarus-advanced-threat-protection\">Quishing protection forms part of Retarus Advanced Threat Protection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Retarus sets itself apart from many other providers in that its QR code phishing protection does not need to be purchased separately. It is already an integral part of the company\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/products\/email-security\/advanced-threat-protection\/\">ATP package<\/a>. This is in line with our underlying mission: Retarus\u2019 customers should always benefit from the latest threat protection methods, without having to manually take new attack scenarios into account or activate additional services. This can be of critical importance, especially when it comes to dynamic attack methods such as quishing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Retarus, QR code phishing protection does not need to be purchased separately. It is already an integral part of the ATP package. This is in line with our underlying mission: Customers should always benefit from the latest threat protection methods, without having to manually take new attack scenarios into account or activate additional services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":11659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[102],"class_list":["post-11658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-email-security"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>QR code phishing? 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