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GMO: special compensation, a 1-million-dollar reward and a press conference announced

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AT A GLANCE
  • Users whose data has been published receive special compensation of up to 3 million yen per publication.
  • A reward of up to 1 million US dollars is offered for information identifying the attacker.
  • A press conference by the CEO is reported for 2 November, but its content is not yet known.
Photo of the GMO entrance in the Shibuya Fukuras office building in Shibuya, Tokyo (archive photo)
Syced · CC0Photo of the GMO entrance in the Shibuya Fukuras office building in Shibuya, Tokyo (archive photo)
In this article

The affected service

According to Impress Watch, the attack targets the “FX自動売買専用VPS” (VPS dedicated to automated FX trading) service of the “お名前.com デスクトップクラウド” (Onamae.com Desktop Cloud) product. Malicious programs were installed on users’ servers, and login details for trading accounts, including FX accounts, were reportedly obtained and used. The attacker had announced the publication of data at noon on the 27th, and publications were subsequently observed. GMO says it will “never” give in to this demand.

The special compensation

Users whose data has been published receive a “special compensation payment”, capped at 3 million yen per publication. Impress Watch reports 10,000 yen for basic information, 15,000 for financial and authentication data and 25,000 for sensitive data, with the amounts added together. According to Business+IT, the people concerned are contacted individually; this sum comes on top of the flat-rate payment and the compensation for fraudulent transactions.

The reward and the guidance

GMO has set up a reward capped at 1 million US dollars for any information that helps identify the perpetrator. The desk has been open since noon on 28 October, in Japanese, English and Chinese. The company asks people not to spread the published data and announces legal action against malicious distributors.

The announced press conference

In a headline dated 1 November, the Japan Times announces that GMO’s CEO, Masatoshi Kumagai, will hold a press conference on Monday (2 November) on the cyberattack. The body of the article could not be opened here and the content of the press conference is not known.

LANGUAGE NOTES

Learn the grammar

Explained in English

French grammar

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

01The present indicative
Structure

est / sont + attribute (noun, adjective, prepositional phrase)

In the article
Le guichet est ouvert depuis le 28 octobre à midi, en japonais, en anglais et en chinois.
Key points

Être in the present is est for a singular subject and sont for a plural one. It describes nature, state or place (“is”, “is located”). If what follows (the attribute) is a noun, adjective or prepositional phrase, it is not a passive. If a past participle follows, it is a passive (est annoncé). Headlines and summaries often use the present to describe the current situation.

02The passé composé
Structure

present of avoir + past participle

In the article
GMO a créé une prime plafonnée à 1 million de dollars américains pour toute information permettant d’identifier l’auteur.
Key points

The passé composé is the most common past tense, used for “did” and “has done” — actions completed in the past. It is formed with the auxiliary avoir (a / ont…) in the present + a past participle. Past participles of -er verbs end in -é (annoncer → annoncé); learn the irregular ones (faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu). In the negative, ne … pas wraps the auxiliary (n’a pas annoncé). In the news it reports facts that have already happened, such as “announced” or “voted”.

03The imparfait
Structure

stem (nous form of the present) + -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient

In the article
L’attaquant avait annoncé la publication de données le 27 à midi, et des publications ont ensuite été constatées.
Key points

The imparfait describes states, background, habits and actions in progress in the past (il était, elle avait, ils pensaient). Take the nous form of the present, drop -ons, and add -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient. If the passé composé gives “the event itself”, the imparfait paints “the situation at the time”.

04The futur simple
Structure

stem (infinitive) + -ai / -as / -a / -ons / -ez / -ont

In the article
GMO affirme qu’elle ne cédera « jamais » à cette exigence.
Key points

The futur simple means “will do” or “is planned to”. Add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive (participer → il participera). Watch the irregular stems: être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, pouvoir → pourr-, voir → verr-. In the news it is used for fixed plans and outlooks.

05The present conditional
Structure

stem (infinitive) + -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient

In the article
Des programmes malveillants ont été installés sur des serveurs d’utilisateurs et des identifiants de comptes de trading, notamment de FX, auraient été récupérés et utilisés.
Key points

The conditional expresses possibility, supposition, unconfirmed information and polite requests (“would”, “might”). It uses the same stem as the future and the same endings as the imparfait (-ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient): pouvoir → il pourrait. In the news it is used to avoid asserting, as in “is reported to…” or “there is a possibility…”.

06The passive voice in the present
Structure

être (est / sont) + past participle (+ par / de)

In the article
D’après Business+IT, les personnes concernées sont contactées individuellement ; cette somme s’ajoute à l’indemnité forfaitaire et à la compensation des transactions frauduleuses.
Key points

The passive means “is done” or “is being done”. It is formed with être + past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and number (la mesure est adoptée / les mesures sont adoptées). The agent is introduced by par (or de). In the news it is common when the event, rather than the actor, is the focus (est prévu / est annoncé / est connu).

07The passive in the passé composé
Structure

a / ont été + past participle

In the article
Des programmes malveillants ont été installés sur des serveurs d’utilisateurs et des identifiants de comptes de trading, notamment de FX, auraient été récupérés et utilisés.
Key points

The past passive means “was done”. Its form is present of avoir + été (past participle of être) + past participle. Été does not change, but the last participle agrees with the subject in gender and number (la loi a été votée / les textes ont été votés). It is frequent in news reporting results such as votes, decisions and announcements.

08Pronominal verbs
Structure

se / s’ + verb

In the article
D’après Business+IT, les personnes concernées sont contactées individuellement ; cette somme s’ajoute à l’indemnité forfaitaire et à la compensation des transactions frauduleuses.
Key points

A pronominal verb is used with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous) before the verb. It can mean “do to oneself”, “be done” or “do to each other”. In the news, se traduire (to result in), se tenir (to take place), s’agir de (to be a matter of) and se diffuser (to spread) are frequent. The pronoun changes with the subject (il se tient / ils se tiennent / je me souviens).

09Negation and its scope
Structure

ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus

In the article
L’entreprise demande de ne pas diffuser les données publiées et annonce des poursuites contre les diffuseurs malveillants.
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”.

10Citing a source with selon
Structure

selon + noun / organisation

In the article
Selon Impress Watch, l’attaque vise le service « FX自動売買専用VPS » du produit « お名前.com デスクトップクラウド ».
Key points

Selon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.

11Dates and their prepositions
Structure

le + 日付 / du … au …

In the article
Le guichet est ouvert depuis le 28 octobre à midi, en japonais, en anglais et en chinois.
Key points

Le 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.

12Million and milliard followed by de
Structure

number + million(s) / milliard(s) + de + noun

In the article
GMO a créé une prime plafonnée à 1 million de dollars américains pour toute information permettant d’identifier l’auteur.
Key points

Million and milliard are nouns, so use de before what is counted. Before a vowel it becomes d’. Mille works differently: look at the quantity as a whole instead of applying the same form.

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
Impress Watchによると、不正アクセスを受けたのは「お名前.com デスクトップクラウド」の「FX自動売買専用VPS」です。
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.

02Indicating the subject: について
Structure

noun + について

In the article
ジャパンタイムズは、11月1日付の見出しで、GMOの熊谷正寿社長が月曜日(11月2日)にサイバー攻撃について記者会見を開くと伝えました。
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.

03Giving examples with など
Structure

noun / expression + など

In the article
利用者のサーバーに不正なプログラムが置かれ、FXなどの取引口座のログイン情報が取得・悪用されたとされています。
Key points

“暴言など” gives “abusive language” as one example. It is not necessarily a closed list of only the things named. It also helps when reading the scope of a news story.

04The polite past ました
Structure

verb stem (連用形) + ました

In the article
GMOは、攻撃者の特定につながる情報に、総額100万米ドルを上限とする懸賞金を設けました。
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.

05Quoting with と: content and report
Structure

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

In the article
攻撃者は27日12時に情報の公開を予告し、その後、公開が確認されたと伝えられています。
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.

06Linking actions with the て-form
Structure

verb て-form + next expression

In the article
10月28日の続報からの変化は、補償の内容と懸賞金が分かったこと、そして会見が予定されていることです。
Key points

The て-form links actions in a series, in order or as a reason. In “確認して、出発する” the relation is judged from the content. In “〜ている” it can show an action in progress or a continuing state.

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