Electronic QR Code Relay Attack Prevention via Frame Interlacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic QR codes are vulnerable to relay attacks, where an attacker captures and presents the QR code to a point-of-sale device without the owner's permission, leading to fraudulent transactions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing frame interlacing and refresh rate synchronization techniques, where the QR code is decomposed into fragments and displayed sequentially, and the refresh rate of the smart device is synchronized with the shutter speed of the point-of-sale device, making it difficult for attackers to capture the entire code and detect relay attacks through optical distortions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the QR code is displayed continuously on the smart device screen, then the ease of operation is improved, but the vulnerability to relay attacks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The QR code is displayed in a blinking or flickering manner, turning on and off periodically. This periodic display allows the QR code to be visible when needed for scanning while remaining protected during other times, directly addressing the relay attack vulnerability while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The QR code transitions from a static continuous display to a dynamic blinking display. This dynamic behavior changes the temporal characteristics of the QR code presentation, making it difficult for attackers to capture a complete, usable image while still allowing legitimate scanners to capture it during the brief visible periods.
2Reliability
If the QR code is decomposed into fragments and displayed sequentially, then the security against relay attacks is improved, but the scanning time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fragmented QR code portions are displayed in rapid sequential succession, with each fragment visible for a brief periodic interval. This rapid periodic display of fragments maintains security while minimizing the total time required for scanning, as the fragments are presented quickly in sequence rather than requiring prolonged exposure.
3Measurement precision
If the refresh rate is synchronized with shutter speed, then the detection precision of relay attacks is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system adjusts and synchronizes specific parameters - the refresh rate of the display and the shutter speed of the camera. By changing and coordinating these temporal parameters, the system creates detectable patterns that reveal relay attacks while maintaining manageable device complexity through parameter coordination rather than complex structural changes.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and/or techniques for facilitating relay attack prevention for electronic quick response (QR) codes are provided. In various embodiments, a system can determine a cardinality and a frame rate. In various aspects, the system can transmit a first electronic instruction to a mobile device, which can cause the mobile device to generate a set of interlaced frames having the determined cardinality. In various cases, the set of interlaced frames can respectively correspond to a set of portions of an electronic QR code, such that different frames from the set of interlaced frames depict different portions from the set of portions of the electronic QR code. In various aspects, the first electronic instruction can further cause the mobile device to sequentially render, at the determined frame rate, the set of interlaced frames on an electronic display of the mobile device. In various aspects, this can cause one portion from the set of portions of the electronic QR code to be depicted on the electronic display at a time. In various instances, the system can transmit a second electronic instruction to a point-of-sale device, which can cause the point-of-sale device to reconfigure scanner settings of the point-of-sale device, and which can enable the point-of-sale device to capture the set of interlaced frames sequentially rendered on the electronic display of the mobile device based on the determined cardinality and the determined frame rate.