Masatoshi Kumagai, head of the GMO Internet Group, and other executives held a news conference in Tokyo on Monday over unauthorized access to services run by group company GMO Internet, and said the delay in facing reporters came down to priorities.
Asked why the conference came so long after the breach was made public, Kumagai said the group had been consumed by keeping the damage from spreading and keeping services running.
“We were fully occupied with preventing the expansion of damage to customers and maintaining functions. As a listed company and as the party that caused this trouble, we reached a position where I could apologize and explain in my own words. It may have been late, but as a group we responded with everything we had.”Masatoshi Kumagai, head of the GMO Internet Group
He said he was aware the explanation had come late. He did not give a date for when the breach was first detected or when the company learned of it.
Warning in 2024
Reporters also asked why the company had not done enough after a systems specialist inside the group pointed out weaknesses in 2024. The published account of the conference does not include Kumagai's answer to that question.
Kumagai has said he was not told about reports of flaws in the company's systems, and he appeared close to tears during the apology, according to the Asahi Shimbun.