Japan firms pay users after cyberattacks hit economy

Japanese companies are compensating users after a wave of cyberattacks, with GMO Internet paying 5,000 yen ($32) to customers following unauthorized access to its foreign exchange trading service. GMO CEO Masatoshi Kumagai announced the payment as a goodwill gesture, while shares slumped 11% in Tokyo. The company received a ransom demand and threats to leak data, which it refused, coordinating with police instead. The attacks follow critical vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language, prompting millions of hacking attempts globally. Park24 also plans 3,000 yen payments after a data breach, as Japan launches an AI-driven team to simulate cyberattacks.