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GMO Chairman Kumagai Apologizes Again at Press Conference, Says Social Media Posts "Lacked Consideration"

Security3 min read

GMO Internet Group's CEO Masatoshi Kumagai apologized again at a press conference on November 2, 2026. The apology was about a hacking attack on a FX (currency trading) cloud service and about his social media posts.

CEO apologizes at a press conference

GMO Internet Group CEO Masatoshi Kumagai held a press conference on November 2 about unauthorized access to 'お名前.com デスクトップクラウド' (Onamae.com Desktop Cloud). This is a virtual computer service used for automatic FX trading. He said, 'We were not able to protect our customers, and I am truly sorry.' The group had announced the hack on October 21. This was the first press conference the group had held since then.

Key facts

  • The hack was announced on October 21, 2026.
  • Customer information was leaked, and customers' assets were also damaged.
  • Kumagai admitted the service's system had a security problem.
  • An expert at GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae had pointed out problems with the system, and Kumagai said this warning was not used in running the service.

What led to the apology

The hack hit a service used by people who trade currencies with automatic programs. Kumagai also posted on social media during this time. He later said those posts were not careful enough toward the victims. The posts included a message about a case affecting victims, a smiling photo posted during the crisis, and a comment to a person who had posted about the company's track and field team.

Why it matters

Customers lost money and had their personal information exposed. The company also had warnings about weak security before the attack. Many people also criticized the CEO's posts as unkind to victims. The press conference shows the company is trying to take responsibility, but the full details are still being reported.

What to watch

  • Full details of the press conference, which ITmedia NEWS said it would report later.
  • Compensation for losses from the unauthorized trades, including a condolence payment of 5,000 yen as reported in related articles.
  • Whether the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications asks telecom companies to block the attackers' websites.
  • Results from the analysis of devices collected by GMO.

Glossary

GMO Internet Group
A large Japanese internet company group that runs web hosting, domains, and online services.
FX
Foreign exchange, which means trading one country's money for another's.

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