Secure Square!
The QR Code was invented for Toyota by DENSO in 1994 by Masahiro Hara. In 2014, it won the European Inventor Award. 25 years later, the question arises as to whether the QR Code requires a security update.
DENSO WAVE EUROPE meets these requirements with the Secure QR Code (SQRC®).
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The “QR” in QR Code stands for “Quick Response” which directly highlights one of the many advantages of the two-dimensional code: It provides information very quickly and easily – and can contain a lot of important data.
The black and white square has spread rapidly around the globe due to its numerous applications. Today, it is almost impossible to imagine logistics and industry, retail, marketing, and advertising without the QR Code.
Since DENSO WAVE made the QR Code available free of charge 25 years ago, it quickly became very popular. Today, especially in Asia, billions of transactions are made through a payment system using the QR Code, according to the security software company Sophos.
The 2D code, which was originally developed for factory production control, can now do much more than simply provide information for mobile data collection. Where there are concerns about its safety, the experts from DENSO WAVE EUROPE can offer a secure version of the popular square.
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Kaber Kolioutsis, Marketing Communication Specialist, explains: “As the importance of data security has increased immensely, DENSO has developed the Secure QR Code. It enables the encryption of sensitive data, combining the unique benefits of the QR Code with the important factor of security.”
Visually, the SQRC® cannot be distinguished from a simple QR Code. However, it ensures that access to the secured part is only possible with certain DENSO readers with the appropriate encryption key embedded in the unit. In addition, access can be granted to a select group of people with the required unit.
This is a big advantage in healthcare: On the SQRC®, the name and number of a patient can be stored in the public area of the QR Code. The sensitive data, such as the patient’s disease progression, however, would be stored in the encrypted area, so that only the attending physician can access the information with the appropriate reader.
Even modern face recognition can be combined with the SQRC®. First, a picture of the user is taken, so that the personal facial features are available as data. Then a Secure QR Code is created with the Face SQRC® Generation App. Authentication at the access control point is accomplished by comparing the facial data on the SQRC® with the features captured with the camera at the access control point.
“Face Recognition is no longer a future scenario, but can be securely realized with the Secure QR Code – fast and easy,” says Kolioutsis.
The further development of the QR Code clearly shows that after 25 years, it has become even more valuable and offers advantages that meet today’s requirements.
