GMO Forex Platform Hit by Cyberattack and $50 Million Ransom Demand; Japan's Finance Minister Pledges Emergency Response

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Japan will respond with a sense of urgency to damage caused by cyberattacks on foreign exchange trading platforms, and that no new attacks have been detected so far. "Given how quickly these incidents and related circumstances are evolving, we will continue to ask financial regulators to take appropriate and swift response measures in line with developments," Katayama told reporters on Tuesday. She also said that on cybersecurity issues, "there is a shared sense of crisis globally," citing discussions with G7 counterparts in Bangkok last week. Katayama's remarks come as dozens of Japanese companies have reported system intrusions in recent weeks, with possible leaks of customer data. At the same time, global concerns are mounting that attackers are using artificial intelligence to find and exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities. In one recent incident, IT service provider GMO Internet Group reported unauthorized access to its foreign exchange trading platform, with some customers saying trades not initiated by them appeared in their accounts. Katayama said five foreign exchange trading firms have reported that their customers were affected by the GMO incident. However, she noted that no new reports of unauthorized transactions have been received so far. GMO asked the government on Saturday for assistance in cutting off the source of the attacks. The company's CEO, Masatoshi Kumagai, said in a blog post that the company received a ransom demand for $50 million in cryptocurrency but refused to pay.