GMO Internet Group and GMO Internet held a press briefing on November 2 on the unauthorized access that hit the company's お名前.com Desktop Cloud service. The company said it had resolved to cut the monthly pay of four directors, including a 30 percent reduction for three months for group president Masatoshi Kumagai.
The measures cover the breach and the confusion that followed it. GMO Internet president Masashi Ito, who holds the title of representative director and president executive officer, explained the company's initial response and the framework for compensating customers.
Bounty and compensation
GMO is working to take down the attackers' site and has set up a bounty program for information, which had drawn about 700 applications as of the November 2 briefing. For customers, the company has promised a flat 5,000 yen payment to every customer and six months of free use of an alternative service.
It will also fully cover losses from fraudulent FX trades. Customers confirmed to have had information leaked will receive a "GMO special compensation payment" of up to 3 million yen, scaled to the sensitivity of the data.
'Handguns before, machine guns now'
The briefing ran in two parts. In the second, titled an explanation of what the company had learned from the incident, Kumagai described the scale of the threat in cyberspace. He said attackers once used handguns and now use machine guns, and compared them to indiscriminate killers in a terrorist attack.
He warned that unless individuals, companies and states keep pace, the internet will be overrun by criminals. He then spoke about his own position and resolve.
“I am 63 now, and I have run this business for 31 years. I have given half my life to this internet. I want to clean it up and make it a treasure for people, for Japan and for the world before I die. I will not say that I am pulling out of this industry and leaving the rest to others while the internet remains a tool for criminals like this. I intend to stake my life on making this industry a source of smiles for as many people as possible before I die.”Masatoshi Kumagai, GMO Internet Group president
Asked by a reporter whether he would resign over the weight of his responsibility for the outcome, Kumagai answered immediately. He said he could not die and leave the internet, now polluted by malice, in place in the name of responsibility.
The briefing ran more than three hours, and Kumagai's remarks during it drew criticism, including his comments about a "sandglass of life" and his scolding of employees, according to ITmedia Business Online's coverage of the event.