Secure QR code

Example of an SQR code (This page)

Another example of an SQR code

Secure Quick Response codes or SQR codes are secure two dimensional barcodes with high data density, based on QR codes.

Secure Quick Response codes are a secure method for encrypting data into a barcode. It makes it extremely difficult to decode into the original plain text in the absence of the encryption cipher or key. A typical implementation of SQR codes would be to create a one-time use SQR code on a mobile phone's screen to effectively create a highly secure one-time pad type of encryption of, for example, an online account number.

A typical implementation is to encrypt and use a precursor physical machine readable token such as the card identity number (CID) written in read-only memory (ROM) of a Secure Digital microSD card contained in a mobile telephone. The international mobile identity number may be used where no microSD card is present, for example, on an Apple iPhone.

SQR codes may be securely read in a retail environment at the point of sale using 2D barcode scanners or even a low cost web camera. Secure Quick Response codes were first developed by Yodo, a company operating in Japan, and are patent pending.

SQR Codes have also been developed by Sonny Fisher of the FORUS Foundation for the purposes of secure transactions, and published in a white paper and under a creative commons licence. The SQR solution guarantees the integrity of the source data as well as the validity of the originating party.