GMO Internet CEO requests Japanese active cyber defense after cloud attack

Japanese cloud provider GMO Internet Group has suffered a cyberattack that led to unauthorized trading on customer accounts across more than 70 brokerages worldwide, OfficeChai reported on October 25, 2026. Masatoshi Kumagai, the representative and chief executive officer of GMO Internet Group, published a blog post warning that the internet is starting to break down following the breach. Nikkei Asia and Bloomberg both report that the company has requested active cyber defense measures from the Japanese government. [1][4][5]

The incident involved attackers hijacking GMO's cloud servers, OfficeChai reported. The hackers then used the compromised cloud infrastructure to access user accounts and run unauthorized foreign exchange trades across international financial institutions. OfficeChai noted that Kumagai formally asked the Japanese government to invoke its newly enacted active cyber defense law on behalf of GMO Internet Group to address the breach. [1]

Cloud computing relies on a network access paradigm that shares physical or virtual resources with automated provisioning, which can expose connected services if compromised. As FTMQ Security reported earlier, attackers frequently target cloud and remote server infrastructure to gain elevated root control and execute lateral movement across critical corporate networks. [8][9]

The request marks a major test for Japan's active cyber defense legislation, according to Nikkei Asia and Bloomberg. OfficeChai reported that the chief executive requested the government intervention due to the broad impact across global brokerages and the severity of the server compromises. [1][4][5]