Japanese online service company GMO apologizes for security breaches and
promises compensation
[November 02, 2026] By
YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese online service company GMO Internet Group
apologized Monday for recent security breaches from cyberattacks, while
promising to prevent a recurrence and compensate victims.
Chief Executive Masatoshi Kumagai and other GMO executives bowed deeply
repeatedly, as is the custom here, at a news conference in Tokyo.
GMO confirmed that unauthorized access to its cloud service called
Onamae.com Desktop Cloud resulted in leaked information and transactions
customers didn’t recall making, affecting dozens of securities firms and
other businesses. It said there were more than 26,000 cases.
“I offer my deepest felt apologies,” Kumagai said, stressing the company
took the problem seriously.
Tokyo-based GMO offers various internet services related to
cybersecurity, online marketing and infrastructure systems, and support
for robotics and artificial intelligence.
Kumagai, who founded the company in 1991, acknowledged GMO had been
warned internally about a systemic weakness to such attacks, but failed
to take proper action.
He apologized for recent social media posts, including a photo of him
smiling, that he said may have hurt victims’ feelings. Kumagai is taking
a 30% pay cut for three months, while other top executives are taking
smaller pay cuts.
GMO promised to compensate for the losses and to pay 5,000 yen ($30) to
all its customers to express “goodwill.” It will also switch to a new
security system.
Recent Japanese media reports carried interviews with several people who
said huge amounts of money went missing from a GMO service, although
they had not initiated the transactions.
The problems at GMO have brought to light Japan’s cybersecurity
vulnerabilities, which some experts warn have been brushed off for years
and lack a sense of crisis.
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Humanoid robots perform at a press conference by GMO, Japanese
internet infrastructure company, on Sept. 8, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP
Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
 The troubles at GMO come at a time
of growing concern over cybersecurity.
Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said Friday
that hackers stole more than $6 billion in what appears to be the
largest cryptocurrency heist on record. Blockchain firms have
pointed to the attack coming from a North Korean hacking unit.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has promised to beef up Japan's
cybersecurity measures. The government has declined to comment on
the GMO case, including possible suspects.
GMO acknowledged the attackers had deployed ransomware and said it
refused to pay.
The company is offering $1 million for information that leads to
identifying and arresting the attackers. It has set up a “GMO
Cybercrime Bounty” site, where people can submit information in
English, Japanese or Chinese. It said that as of last week, it had
received more than 400 submissions.
At the news conference, the company’s first since the security
problems surfaced, Kumagai spoke passionately and tearfully about
how he and his employees were working hard to deliver the joys of
the internet and other technology to customers.
The impact of the cyberattacks on GMO’s financial results is still
unclear. GMO stocks, which have fluctuated over the past year,
declined after news of the cyberattacks surfaced. The news
conference started after trading closed in Tokyo. Its shares have
fallen 17.5% so far this year.
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