Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 1 hr ago
GMO chief apologizes after company failed to act on security warning
GMO Internet Group, a Japanese technology company, has faced unauthorized access to its services.
President Masatoshi Kumagai and other executives held a news conference on November 2 to discuss what happened and how they would limit further harm.
Kumagai apologized for failing to act on an internal warning about a security weakness.
A GMO subsidiary had identified the vulnerability two years earlier, but the company did not use that warning to improve its services.
The incident also includes a leak of customer information that had reportedly been accessible from outside for nearly nine years.
The breach raises concerns about customer data and company safeguards.
Executives said they would explain the sequence of events and measures to prevent the damage from spreading.
GMO Internet Group CEO Masatoshi Kumagai apologized for a data leak and damage to customers’ assets caused by unauthorized access.
The company said a security vulnerability had gone unaddressed for more than two years after it was identified.
The intrusion targeted Onamae.com Desktop Cloud, a service used for foreign exchange trading.
A hacker believed to be behind the intrusion disclosed some customer information on Oct. 27 after threatening to release it.
GMO announced pay cuts for Kumagai and other executives.
- Who
- GMO Internet Group and its CEO, Masatoshi Kumagai. A hacker believed to be behind the intrusion also disclosed customer information.
- What
- GMO apologized for a data leak and damage to customers’ assets caused by unauthorized access, and announced executive pay cuts.
- When
- The company held its first press conference since last month’s cyberattack on Nov. 2, 2026.
- Where
- The intrusion targeted the Onamae.com Desktop Cloud service.
- Why
- A security vulnerability had gone unaddressed for more than two years after it was identified.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A customer inquired about suspected unauthorized transactions.
GMO confirmed that a third party had installed an unauthorized program in some customers’ server environments.
A hacker believed to be behind the intrusion disclosed some customer information after threatening to release it.
Kumagai apologized at GMO’s first press conference since the cyberattack, and the company announced pay cuts for executives.
- Company
- GMO Internet Group Inc.
- CEO
- Masatoshi Kumagai
- Affected service
- Onamae.com Desktop Cloud
- Vulnerability warning
- Unaddressed for more than two years after it was identified
- Ransom demand
- $1 million, according to the hacker’s statement
- Customer inquiry
- Oct. 19, 2026
7 sources
GMO熊谷代表、涙の謝罪会見でも“熊谷節”さく裂──「31年間、もうけるという言葉は使ったことがない」
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【ライブ中】GMO 熊谷社長ら記者会見
中継 GMO熊谷社長らが記者会見
What people are saying
We were not able to utilize (the vulnerability alert) in the operation of the service