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Cyberattack on GMO: the group announces the suspension of the domain of a site publishing data

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AT A GLANCE

GMO announced on 28 October that it had noted the suspension of the domain of a site publishing information presented as customer data. The group continues its monitoring and asks people not to share the data.

Photo of the GMO entrance in the Shibuya Fukuras office building in Shibuya, Tokyo (archive photo)
Syced · CC0
In this article

Today’s update

In its thirteenth statement, GMO says it noted at about 4 am Japan time on 28 October the suspension of the domain of the site linked to the attack on Onamae.com Desktop Cloud. The statement was published at 11 am in Japan.

Is the matter settled?

The suspension of a domain does not mean all copies of the data have disappeared. GMO says it will act if new similar sites appear. The fight against the spread of the information continues.

The practical point

GMO asks people not to visit the site concerned and not to republish its contents. Even sharing presented as informative can aggravate the damage. To follow the situation, rely on the official statements.

Understanding the word “domain”

A domain is a name used as an address on the Internet. Blocking access by an address and recovering all copies of information are two different operations. Distinguishing the suspension of a site from complete erasure helps in understanding this news.

LANGUAGE NOTES

Learn the grammar

Explained in English

French grammar

Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.

01The passive in the passé composé
Structure

a / ont été + past participle

In the article
Le communiqué a été publié à 11 h au Japon.
Key points

The thing that received the action is the subject, as in “was adopted” or “was confirmed”. A / ont is avoir and été is the past participle of être. The last past participle changes in gender and number with the subject: adopté, adoptée, adoptés, adoptées.

02Negation and its scope
Structure

ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus

In the article
Le groupe poursuit sa surveillance et appelle à ne pas les relayer.
Key points

Normally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.

03Pouvoir: ability and possibility
Structure

peut / peuvent / pourrait + infinitive

In the article
Même un partage présenté comme informatif peut aggraver les dommages.
Key points

Put a base-form verb after pouvoir. Peut means “can” or “may”; the conditional pourrait gives a more reserved possibility, “might”. It does not necessarily mean implementation is settled.

04Purpose with pour
Structure

pour + infinitive

In the article
Pour suivre la situation, privilégiez les communiqués officiels.
Key points

This is the purpose, “in order to…”. Put the base form of a verb after pour. The purpose stated here is separate from whether the effect was actually achieved.

05The passé composé for events
Structure

present of avoir + past participle

In the article
GMO a annoncé le 28 octobre avoir constaté la suspension du domaine d’un site diffusant des informations présentées comme des données de clients.
Key points

It reports past events, as in “announced” or “explained”. A / ont is the auxiliary avoir and the next word is the past participle. The passé composé alone does not tell you the date of the event.

06The present of être
Structure

est / sont + complement

In the article
Un domaine est un nom utilisé comme adresse sur Internet.
Key points

Est is third-person singular and sont third-person plural of être. They express “is / are” — a state or description. If a past participle follows, it is a different structure such as the passive, so check the words that follow.

Explained in English

Japanese grammar

Understand the structure and usage from the text.

01Citing a source: によると
Structure

noun + によると

In the article
GMOの第13報によると、「お名前.com デスクトップクラウド」への不正アクセスにArticles associés掲載サイトについて、日本時間28日午前4時ごろ、ドメインの停止を確認しました。
Key points

As in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.

02Defining a term with とは
Structure

noun + とは

In the article
ドメインとは、インターネット上の住所として使われる名前です。
Key points

It takes up a word, as in “在留資格とは?”, and asks for its meaning. In explanations it is used as “〜とは、…です”. Here the quotation と and the topic は are combined.

03Polite negation and plain form
Structure

〜ではありません / 〜ではない

In the article
ドメインが停止したことと、流出した情報がすべて消えたことは同じではありません。
Key points

They negate a noun and similar content. “ではありません” is the polite form and “ではない” the plain form. “成立ではありません” shows that it cannot be said to have been concluded.

04Indicating the subject: について
Structure

noun + について

In the article
GMOの第13報によると、「お名前.com デスクトップクラウド」への不正アクセスにArticles associés掲載サイトについて、日本時間28日午前4時ごろ、ドメインの停止を確認しました。
Key points

As in “予算について”, it shows the topic to be talked about or explained. In the form “〜についての報道”, の is added so that the group qualifies the following noun.

05The polite past ました
Structure

verb stem (連用形) + ました

In the article
GMOは10月28日、顧客情報とされる情報が掲載されたサイトのドメイン停止を確認したと発表しました。
Key points

In “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.

06Quoting with と: content and report
Structure

plain-form sentence + と + verbe de parole (報じる, 説明する…)

In the article
GMOは、同様のサイトが新たに開設された場合にも対応するとしています。
Key points

と takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.

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