GMO Chairman Apologizes Over Onamae.com Desktop Cloud Breach

Ransom demand rejected

The attacker also demanded a ransom of 8 billion yen from GMO Internet Group and GMO Internet. According to the company, it has refused. The intrusion took place on October 21. GMO says it has been working on measures to prevent further damage, but threats concerning user information and environments continue, and the service remains suspended.

At the press conference, Chairman and Representative Director Masatoshi Kumagai apologized for the loss of users' assets. He also acknowledged that experts at the group's subsidiary GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae had pointed out problems in the system beforehand. "We were unable to use that in running the service," he said, adding that the company takes this fact seriously.

Apology for social media posts

Kumagai also apologized for his social media activity after the incident: mentioning victims in his own post, posting a photo of himself smiling under these circumstances, and leaving an inappropriate comment toward a user who posted about the company's track and field team. He said all three lacked consideration for those affected. He had already apologized on X on October 29 and repeated it.

The company also announced pay cuts for four executives in total. Kumagai will take a 30% cut to his monthly compensation for three months.