The number of computer attacks on government and other organizations detected in Japan doubled in 2014 from the previous year to a record 25.66 billion, a government agency said Tuesday.
The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology used around 240,000 sensors to detect cyberattacks, including those aimed at remotely controlling systems connected to the Internet and checking the vulnerability of software used in servers.
In an increasing number of cases, hackers took control of routers, security cameras and other noncomputer systems and used them to establish their own communications, the institute known as NICT said.
Among countries to which perpetrators' Internet Protocol addresses were traced, China accounted for the largest share at 40 percent, while South Korea, Russia and the United States also ranked high.
NICT launched a survey on cyberattacks in Japan in 2005, when the number of such incidents stood at around 310 million. The number rose to about 5.65 billion in 2010 and to 7.79 billion in 2012.
The government is planning to adopt a security strategy in June to bolster defenses against cyberattacks and promote international cooperation to that end.