TOKYO: Tokyo police on Monday started three-day public-private cybersecurity exercises against potential malware attacks targeting devices used for teleworking, or working remotely using information and communications technology.

The exercises by the Metropolitan Police Department come as many corporations are expected to adopt teleworking during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer to avoid traffic congestion.

Some 140 employees from 58 operators of critical infrastructure such as railways, electric power and gas are expected to take part in the drills through Wednesday. On Monday, 53 people from 24 companies received training on identifying malware infections, blocking unauthorized access attempts, preserving communication logs and restoring computer systems.

The drills are based on a scenario in which a computer virus intended for unauthorized access infected an employee's device through a system vulnerability. Although attacks by the malware were blocked by an in-house security system, the malware was activated when the infected computer was taken out of the workplace for teleworking.

The virus then caused the computer to be infected with another virus, which extracts information, and the return of the device to the workplace caused the infection to spread, leading to information being stolen from the company, according to the scenario.

"Cyberattacks to disrupt the Tokyo Games are all but certain to take place," MPD deputy chief Yoshimi Ogata said at the beginning of the drills, calling for cooperation such as the swift sharing of information.

JIJI Press