Japanese virtual desktop cloud hacked so hard it asks to be banned
CEO admits service used for foreign exchange trading had holes company was slow to fix
Japanese ISP GMO Internet has admitted that its Onamae.com Desktop Cloud service, which provides virtual desktops for foreign exchange trading, was hacked. The attacker installed malicious programs in the server environments of some customers, and third parties likely accessed users' passwords for trading services. The company has advised customers to change their passwords using separate devices and has contacted major trading services to terminate active sessions and monitor for unauthorized transactions.
GMO received a $50 million ransom demand, which it declined to pay, stating that compliance would not guarantee the deletion or prevention of misuse of stolen information. Investigations are ongoing, with GMO warning that 26,739 servers may have been affected and users' personal devices at risk. The company has offered a ¥5,000 ($32) condolence payment to all users and promises to compensate any trading losses caused by the attack.
GMO CEO Masatoshi Kumagai acknowledged the company's failure to properly address the security vulnerabilities and called for public-private partnerships to improve cybersecurity in Japan.
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