JAPAN BEGINS HACKING IOT DEVICES AHEAD OF 2020 OLYMPICS

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Japan Begins Hacking IoT Devices Ahead of 2020
Olympics
mikeechols.com/japan-begins-hacking-iot-devices Mi
chael Echols
The 2020 Summer Olympics will take place in
Tokyo, Japan, where athletes from all over the
world will compete for gold medals and personal
recognition. Hosting the Olympics requires a
lengthy period of preparation to ensure the
safety and capability of competitors and
spectators. The event requires spending billions
on designing and building infrastructure. And as
hackers now impact our digital world daily, the
prioritization and investment in security both
physical and cyber. IoT Devices are Vulnerable A
recent report shows that that two thirds of all
2016 cyber-attacks were aimed at Internet of
Things (IoT) devices. With a growing number of
digital threats, Japan worries that adversaries
will hack devices connected to the IoT to disrupt
Olympic infrastructure. The games use a multitude
of IoT dependent devices ranging from basic
electric work to superior computer software.
Even a small disruption in any one of these
technological systems can cause transmission
delay or completely undermine event logistics.
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We do not need to look far to confirm this. In
retaliation to banning some of their best
athletes, Russia targeted the 2018 PyeongChang
Winter Olympics computer networks by deploying
the Olympic Destroyer malware. This resulted in
technical malfunctions during the opening
ceremony. Though the issues were completely
resolved in 12 hours, the point of the matter is
that hackers were successful in penetrating the
weak security systems. This occurrence validates
worries and Japan officials are studying after
actions reports to learn as much a s
possible. Hacking and Pen Testing As a result of
IoT concerns, the Japanese government has
approved a law amendment that will allow federal
authorities to hack into their citizens IoT
devices. Starting next month, the National
Institute of Information and Communications
Technology (NICT) will test the security of 200
million devices. Officials will use default
passwords to assess device vulnerability. Truth
is, if a government official can crack your
passcode, the likelihood of a seasoned hacker
doing the same is all that much higher. Many
individuals fail to understand the importance of
using complex passwords to safeguard their
digital assets. Even worse, people tend to use
the default passwords factory set for the device.
This simplifies the hackers work. A computer
program could scan the internet and identify
these devices for the hacker to access at
will. The new law has outraged many Japanese
citizens who question the governments authority
to infringe on their privacy. Some suggestions
have been put forward to preserve the civil
rights Japanese citizens now observe. One thought
was to send a mass notification to all smart
devices, prompting the users to change their
passwords. However, there would still belittle
guarantee that default passwords were changed. If
Japan is unable to identify their own cyber
vulnerabilities, nefarious hackers undoubtedly
will. A cyber-attack during a global event, such
as the Olympics, can and will potentially
endanger lives. Japans prudent planning takes
potentially fatal outcomes into account. The
government aptly identifies the dangers of
disruption to our new digital world. A
catastrophic cyber event could be as impacting on
the economy and their reputation as the physical
events we have been preparing for over many years
of large global events. Cybersecurity is a
Responsibility Hosting the Olympics is a
prestigious matter, but it also creates a haven
for any and all types of crimes. By taking
preventative cybersecurity measures as described
above, the Japanese could be preserving its very
own democracy. Freedom comes with a cost. This
means the governments determination they pay
with challenge from their citizens now, will net
them a prosperous and successful Olympics later.
Thus, authorities are showing
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cyber leadership which is missing in many parts
of the world. There will be enough competition
from Japans athletic guests. The country does
not need the challenge from hackers at the same
time.