In early June, Japanese video-sharing site Niconico suffered a server failure that forced its parent company Kadokawa to temporarily shut down its services. Now, a group of hackers linked to Russia is claiming responsibility for the cyberattack, blackmailing the anime media conglomerate with threats to reveal sensitive information about its business and employees.
According to Kyodo News, a hacker group called BlackSuit released a statement on the dark web claiming ownership of the Niconico cyberattack. BlackSuit claims it had access to Kadokawa's network and downloaded 1.5 terabytes of sensitive data related to the company's business, such as signed documents, contracts, legal statements, emails, etc. The ransom states that if Kadokawa does not pay by Monday, July 1, 2024, “everything will be made public.”
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Kadokawa has produced Anime series such as KonoSuba, Overlord, Mushoku Tensei and Sword Art Online
Currently, Kadokawa has not yet issued an official response to the cyber threat. As a major Japanese media company, Kadokawa is involved in many projects and franchises; In addition to being the owner of Niconico, this company is also the publisher of famous light novels and manga series such as Sword Art Online and invests in many anime products. Kadokawa is also the owner of From Software, the Japanese developer of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and the recently updated Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Needless to say, the risk of leaking personal information related to employees, customers and anyone else associated with the company is a big problem for Kadokawa. According to the company, it does not retain customer credit card information from its service websites such as Niconico and no information leaks related to users have occurred. Kadokawa has been investigating the situation since the first cyberattack was reported in early June.
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Kadokawa is not the only company that has suffered a serious cyber attack. Insomniac Games, the developer of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 for PlayStation 5, was targeted by another group of hackers in December 2023 and future game releases tied to Marvel Comics and personal information of their employees leaked. Many game companies and developers condemned the attack and expressed support for the PlayStation company.
Source: Kyodo News