[ITmedia News] GMO requests government to launch “active cyber defense” due to attack on Onanae.com FX VPS

On October 24, GMO Internet announced that in response to a cyberattack on its FX VPS service that caused financial damage to users (detailed article), it has urgently requested government agencies to treat the incident as the ``first activation'' of ``active cyber defense,'' a state-led initiative to neutralize the source of the attack.

Active cyber defense is a security framework in which the police and Self-Defense Forces identify and neutralize (detoxify) the attacker's infrastructure and intrusion routes in response to serious cyber threats, such as attacks on national or critical infrastructure, in order to prevent damage from occurring and preventing its spread. Operation began on October 1st, with partial enforcement of the Act on Strengthening Cyber ​​Response Capabilities and the Development Act.

This time, the attack occurred on Onanae.com Desktop Cloud, a VPS for automatic FX trading. There was a security issue with the system, and the user's trading account was fraudulently manipulated. According to user reports on social media, there are reports of large amounts of financial damage, including millions of yen. Additionally, the company is reportedly still receiving threats to pay money from those believed to be the attackers.

The company claims that the attack used an "extremely malicious and unprecedented method" of "unauthorized manipulation and asset damage targeting the trading accounts (financial assets) of ordinary citizens."

``It is difficult to eradicate the theft of national assets by sophisticated cybercrime groups operating behind the scenes across national borders with the defense and post-incident response of private businesses alone,'' he said, calling for this to be the first case to trigger active cyber defense.

They urgently requested government agencies to take effective measures to track down, shut down, and neutralize state-led attack bases.