According to Hong Kong 01, GMO Internet Group’s cloud service was subject to unauthorized access and the attackers demanded money. The scale of the damage is being assessed based on the affected servers, and attention is focused on developments going forward.
Onamae.com Desktop Cloud, a service for automated FX trading, is reportedly alleged to have been infected with malware by a hacker group. The number of potentially affected servers was said to total 26,739. The attackers reportedly began releasing some customer information after the ransom payment deadline passed.
According to experts, GMO allegedly gave its support staff a “master key” that could open the doors to all users. The key may have been stolen and used to directly control the virtual desktops of numerous customers. It was also pointed out that users’ home-PC hard drives were linked to the cloud, meaning that a server takeover could potentially spread infection to users’ PCs.
Industry sources reportedly said that the security vulnerability had been discovered 7 years ago but left unaddressed for many years. The article also introduced the view that AI is searching for vulnerabilities around the clock.
Some users on social media criticized GMO, but others pointed out that the company accounts for approximately 80% of Japan’s domain-management market and is involved in the payment infrastructure of major e-commerce sites, meaning that its collapse could affect entire systems.
The company reportedly refused to pay the ransom and offered condolence payments of approximately HK$248 per person, as well as full compensation for losses from unauthorized transactions. Concerns remain over the risk of personal information leaks in addition to financial disruption.