Japanese Firms Compensate Users as Cyberattacks Strain Economy

Japanese companies are preparing to compensate users following a series of cyberattacks that disrupted internet services and raised concerns about economic stability. GMO Internet said it would pay 5,000 yen ($32) to all clients as a "first gesture of good faith" after unauthorized access hit its currency trading service. The compensation follows Japan's announcement Friday of a team to simulate AI-driven cyberattacks and identify system vulnerabilities, as organizations work to limit risks from flaws in the PHP programming language. GMO's stock fell 11% in Tokyo morning trading while the benchmark index remained stable. Experts say AI is automating tasks from finding software flaws to designing phishing campaigns, making cybercrime faster and harder to detect. Government and corporate websites in Japan, Europe and elsewhere were taken offline last week after critical PHP vulnerabilities triggered millions of hacking attempts. Park24 also announced it would pay 3,000 yen to customers following a personal data leak.