Japan to Probe IoT Devices & Then Prod Users to

On Feb 25, 2019

Photograph of miniature models of a Japanese woman in a kitchen with a cloud connecting to Internet of Things devices. — Illustration: iStockphoto

Starting today, Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) will begin testing the security of Internet-connected devices that belong to citizens and businesses. Without notifying owners, the agency will use default credentials to try to log in to possibly millions of gadgets across the country as part of a nationwide cybersecurity experiment due to end in 2022.

The project will be conducted in cooperation with the country’s major Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The aim is to root out Internet of Things (IoT) devices with weak security. Then, ISPs will warn owners that their devices are vulnerable to cyber attacks.