Canon IT event: expert calls GMO breach a new ransomware form
At an October 28 briefing, a Kobe University professor emeritus said the GMO Internet attack held customer data directly hostage.
Canon IT Solutions held a media briefing on October 28, where a professor emeritus of Kobe University and cybersecurity adviser to the city of Kobe described the attack on GMO Internet's service as a new form of ransomware that takes customers' personal data directly hostage, according to internet.watch.impress.co.jp.
At the briefing, the expert said AI is a threat, but that it is hard to call it a major one if known vulnerabilities are addressed. He warned that the damage from leaked personal information continues for years.
The login credentials for accounts held in trading tools on a virtual private server reached up to 26,739. The attacker exploited the drive-sharing function in RDP to take over an entire network from a single virtual private server, he said.
Patch volume and guidance
Microsoft's vulnerability disclosures reached about 1,400 in the single month of October 2026. JPCERT/CC issued an advisory on October 8 urging organizations to prioritize handling known vulnerabilities.
The expert said use of the SCS evaluation system, a security assessment scheme for small and medium-sized businesses expected to be announced as early as February 2027, would be effective.
From late September 2026, reports of data leaks caused by cyberattacks came one after another, including an attack on IDC Frontier that affected 495 companies and local governments, and the improper acquisition of information on about 6.6 million accounts at Times Car, with driver's license images leaked for about 1.6 million of them.
Quick answers
What did the Canon IT Solutions briefing cover?
A media briefing on October 28 on the current state of cyberattacks, including the attack on GMO Internet's service, which the speaker described as a new form of ransomware.
How many account login credentials were involved?
Up to 26,739 login credentials for accounts held in trading tools on a virtual private server, according to the briefing.
What did the expert recommend for smaller companies?
He said use of the SCS evaluation system, a security assessment scheme for small and medium-sized businesses expected to be announced as early as February 2027, would be effective.