Software owner ‘currently considering solutions’ after being hacked by ransomware gang

Software’s parent company Kadokawa Corporation has been hacked, with the anonymous ransomware group threatening to release 1.5TB of data on July 1 if its demands are not met. According to their post, the group accessed the Kadokawa network almost a month ago and “encrypted the entire network” after accessing the control center.

Kadokawa Corporation has since confirmed the hack via a lengthy statement, stating: “On Saturday, June 8, servers located in the KADOKAWA Group data center were subjected to a significant cyberattack, including ransomware, targeting Niconico and related services. KADOKAWA is currently investigating rapid company-wide solutions and workarounds to normalize its systems and business operations.”

Among the data the group is threatening to disclose are “contracts, DocuSigned documents, various legal documents, data relating to platform users (emails, data usage, opened links, etc.), employee data (personal information, payments, contracts, emails, etc.), business planning (presentations, emails, offers, etc.), project data (coding, emails, payments, etc.), financial data (payments, transfers, planning, etc.), other internal data – exclusive use papers and confidential data.

The ransomware group also revealed that Kadokawa’s IT department “detected (their) presence within the network 3 days before (they) encrypted it.” Although the company’s administrators attempted to expel the hackers, they “managed to establish undetectable access to the network,” allowing them to continue downloading data even after detection.

The hackers added that they “offer to help improve Kadokawa’s network, based on their (lifelong) experience, in addition to decrypting the network and deleting leaked data” if their demands are met. However, it remains unclear how much the ransomware group is expecting from Kadokawa Corporation.