TOKYO - GMO Internet Group Inc. CEO Masatoshi Kumagai admitted Sunday night that internal engineers had flagged security issues before unauthorized access occurred to a foreign exchange trading service it provides and that the company's response to the concerns was insufficient.
In a post on his blog, Kumagai said the internet services firm was warned by in-house white-hat hackers of "issues that needed improvement" regarding security but that its response was inadequate in both depth and speed and the attackers took advantage of that vulnerability. He apologized, saying, "I deeply regret it."
GMO has confirmed that customer information, including account passwords, was leaked externally and used in fraudulent transactions. On Saturday, it asked the government to take "active cyber defense" measures due to unauthorized access.
With cyberattacks against businesses growing increasingly severe, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and relevant Cabinet ministers will hold a meeting on cyber security plans on Monday evening, according to the top government spokesman.
Under a law that took effect on Oct. 1, the government can use its powers to infiltrate servers used by attackers and neutralize threats to prevent damage before it occurs. It is not designed, however, to be activated at the request of private companies.
While GMO is not among critical infrastructure operators designated under the framework, Kumagai said, the government should take a resolute stance that cybercrime will not be tolerated.
"If this is overlooked as just an isolated incident in the private sector, all kinds of social infrastructure and personal assets could be threatened next by similar methods," Kumagai said in his blog post.
The unauthorized access targeted the onamae.com desktop cloud service. A customer inquired about suspected unauthorized transactions on Oct. 19 and GMO confirmed the next day that an unauthorized program had been installed on servers.
Although the servers were shut down on Wednesday, customers continued to report operations they said they did not recognize.
GMO said it will reimburse customers for losses from the unauthorized transactions and intends to pay 5,000 yen ($32) to all customers of the affected service, regardless of whether they suffered financial losses in the cyberattacks.
Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that "countermeasures are urgently needed" over the recent spate of data leaks and their misuse.
The ministerial meeting's attendees will share information and discuss future measures including further coordination between government agencies and ministries, he said.
