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GMO Chairman Kumagai Delivers "Kumagai-bushi" Even at Tearful Apology Briefing: "In 31 Years, I Have Never Used the Word 'Profit'"

SecurityNovember 2, 20262 min read

GMO Internet Group's CEO Masatoshi Kumagai apologized in a briefing on a hack of an FX trading cloud service. He said the company will not pay criminals, and that AI is making cyberattacks faster than ever.

What happened

On November 2, 2026, GMO Internet Group held a briefing about unauthorized access to a cloud server service used for automated currency (FX) trading. The service is called "Onamae.com Desktop Cloud." The briefing had three parts. In the first part, Kumagai and other executives apologized and explained what happened. In the second part, Kumagai talked about what the company learned from the case. He spoke about how AI is changing cyberattacks, and he said the company must change its own approach.

Key facts

Kumagai has worked in the internet industry for 31 years.
The attack targeted an FX automated-trading cloud server service.
ChatGPT was released by OpenAI on November 30, 2022.
Kumagai said the criminal group used an AI tool called ARTEX to attack a Korean bank.
Kumagai is 63 years old.

Some context

Hackers can now use AI tools to find weak points in computer systems quickly. Kumagai said that a tool like ARTEX can switch between several AI systems. If one AI refuses to help, the tool tries another. He said that even a high school or middle school student could become a criminal with this kind of tool. Kumagai said the industry has long used the idea of "resilience." This means you may not be able to stop every attack, but you can stop it fast and recover.

Why it matters

This story shows how AI is changing online safety for companies and everyday people. Kumagai said that the speed of change now makes human response the bottleneck. He also said companies must move from being focused only on security to being focused on resilience. His words show that the leaders of big internet companies are starting to admit that old methods are not enough.

What to watch

Whether GMO Internet finds and punishes the people behind the attack.
How government agencies respond, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' request to block the attacker's website.
Whether other companies also change to a resilience-focused approach.
How the case affects trust in GMO Internet's services.

Glossary

GMO Internet Group: A large Japanese internet company that provides web hosting, domains, and online services.
FX: Foreign exchange, which means trading one country's money for another's, such as yen for dollars.
ARTEX: The name of an AI tool that criminals reportedly used to attack a Korean bank by switching between several AI systems.
ChatGPT: A chat AI program made by the US company OpenAI, released to the public in November 2022.

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