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Mimecast strengthens defences against QR code phishing

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 07 Feb 2024
Brian Pinnock, sales engineering VP at Mimecast.
Brian Pinnock, sales engineering VP at Mimecast.

Mimecast has upgraded the QR code protections in its e-mail security offering, in response to a surge of ‘quishing’ attacks observed throughout 2023.

The Mimecast Email Security now includes deep scanning of URLs tied to QR codes to detect malicious content and block out QR code phishing (quishing) attempts.

In quishing, cyber attackers use fraudulent QR codes in e-mails to redirect unsuspecting users to malicious websites, aiming to compromise sensitive information or execute attacks.

According to Mimecast’s State of Email Security 2023 Report, 92% of South African companies have been targeted by email-based attacks, and 68% have experienced an increase in email-based threats over the same period.

Brian Pinnock, VP of sales engineering at Mimecast, says South African companies operate in one of the most advanced economies in Africa and the global South and, as such, are prime targets for cyber criminals.

"With collaboration at the heart of business operations, nearly 95% of companies agree that they need stronger protection than what comes with popular collaboration tools. The rise of QR code attacks is adding an additional layer of threat for local organisations,” he says.

Deep scanning of QR codes is now live within Mimecast Email Security. The company says more features to protect against quishing will follow.

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