Japanese firms including GMO Internet move to compensate users after cyberattacks, reports say

Japanese companies are moving to compensate users after waves of cyberattacks disrupted internet services in Japan, according to Reuters and the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The attacks have raised concerns about economic stability, according to both reports. Neither report says whose concerns these are.

GMO Internet

According to the SCMP, GMO Internet's foreign exchange trading service was hit by a cyberattack involving unauthorised access.

The SCMP reported that Chief Executive Masatoshi Kumagai said in a blog post on Sunday that customers would be compensated for losses stemming from the unauthorised access. He also said all customers would receive 5,000 yen (US$32), according to the SCMP. The outlet quoted him as describing the payment as "an initial gesture of good faith".

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include the text of the blog post.

Government response

The Japanese government said on Friday it would set up a team to simulate cyberattacks using AI, according to the SCMP. The team's aim is to identify weaknesses in technology systems. The reports do not name the government body responsible. They do not give a timeline or budget.

Wider context

The SCMP also reported that organisations have been scrambling to curtail risks from flaws in the PHP programming language, which underpins much of the internet. The reports do not say whether the attacks in Japan are linked to these flaws. They do not identify the specific vulnerability.

What each side says

• GMO Internet (CEO Masatoshi Kumagai): Customers will be compensated for losses from the unauthorised access. Every customer will receive 5,000 yen as an initial goodwill payment, according to the SCMP.
• Government of Japan: It will set up a team to simulate cyberattacks using AI to find weaknesses in technology systems, according to the SCMP.
• Unnamed experts cited by the SCMP: AI is making cybercrime faster, cheaper and harder to detect. They spoke generally. The reports do not say whether AI was used in these attacks.

What is not known

The reports name only GMO Internet. They do not identify the other companies paying compensation. They do not say who carried out the attacks or why. They do not give the number, timing or scale of the attacks. They also do not say how many customers were affected or how large any losses were.

About the reporting

Vocemundi reviewed only a summary of the Reuters report, not its full text. The SCMP article opens with a sentence identical to that summary. It was published 37 minutes later. This suggests both reports share a single origin, although the SCMP does not credit Reuters. The GMO and government details appear only in the SCMP text.

Analysis

If the reports are accurate, Japanese companies are treating customer compensation as part of their response to cyber incidents. A flat payment to all customers, alongside compensation for specific losses, may be intended to maintain trust. The government's plan for AI-based attack simulations suggests attention to systemic weaknesses. However, it is not yet clear how such a team would operate. Several outcomes remain possible. Other companies could disclose similar measures, or details on the attacks' origin and scale could change the picture. Any link to the PHP flaws or to AI tools is not established in the reports reviewed. Further reporting would be needed to assess the wider economic impact.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.