Japanese companies are starting to compensate customers after a run of cyberattacks disrupted internet services and stirred concerns about economic stability. GMO Internet is the latest to do so, pledging payouts after hackers breached its foreign exchange trading service.
In a blog post on Oct 25, chief executive Masatoshi Kumagai said customers would be compensated for losses caused by unauthorized access, and each would receive 5,000 yen (S$41) as “an initial gesture of good faith.”
Kumagai, whose group spans internet infrastructure and cryptocurrency trading, warned that “the internet itself is now starting to break down.” He added: “The internet is increasingly being transformed into a tool that malicious actors use to threaten and rob people.”
GMO Internet shares, worth US$2.6 billion (S$3.3 billion) in market value at the Oct 23 close, fell 11% in Tokyo morning trade while the benchmark index was flat.
The company said a party believed to be behind the attack had demanded money and threatened to disclose company and customer information. GMO Internet refused and said it would handle the incident with police and other authorities. It will give customers a free alternative service for six months, though it cannot yet calculate how the goodwill payments and compensation will affect earnings.
Kumagai said the company’s white-hat hackers had identified security issues, but the depth and speed of the response were insufficient.
AI and PHP Flaws Put Japanese Companies at Risk
Experts say AI is helping attackers automate tasks from scanning for software vulnerabilities to crafting phishing campaigns, making cybercrime faster, cheaper and harder to detect.
On Oct 23, Japan said it would set up a team to simulate cyberattacks using AI to find weaknesses in technology systems. Organisations were rushing to limit risks from flaws in PHP, the programming language underpinning much of the internet. Last week, government and company websites in Japan, Europe and elsewhere went offline after critical PHP vulnerabilities were disclosed, prompting millions of hacking attempts.
GMO Internet Chief Seeks Stronger Cyberdefence
Kumagai has asked the Japanese government to apply cyberdefence measures in response to the attack, following the introduction of a cyberdefence system in October. That system could involve steps such as attacking hostile servers to neutralise threats.
“Now is the time for the public and private sectors to work together to protect Japan,” he wrote.
Rising Security Costs for Japanese Companies
The recent attacks have exposed weaknesses in how Japanese companies protect their large stores of customer data, raising the prospect of steep costs to shore up defences.
“Companies already have standard security measures in place, so if they want to strengthen them further, there is a possibility that the additional cost burden could be quite substantial,” said Shoichi Arisawa, an analyst at IwaiCosmo Securities.
TrendAI data shows 723 cybersecurity incidents in the year to Oct 20, more than the annual totals for 2025 and 2024. Satoshi Nagano, president of ESET Japan, said: “Reports may reflect both the threats organisations face and greater visibility into incidents that would previously have gone undetected, been underinvestigated, or remained undisclosed.”
GMO Internet is not alone in paying customers. Park24, which runs the Times car-sharing service, said on Oct 23 it would pay customers 3,000 yen each after a personal data breach. It will stop keeping identity document images once registration checks are done and expects an extraordinary loss of 5.5 billion yen from its response to the attack and compensation payments.
