One of the world's largest animation and media production companies, Kadokawa, has now suffered a major data breach after a ransom demand by Russian hacker group BlackSuit was not met by July 1, 2024.
According to The Record and FNN, Kadokawa suffered a massive data leak after a deadline set by hacker group BlackSuit expired. BlackSuit claimed to have 1.5 terabytes of data related to Kadokawa, which the group had previously threatened to release on July 1. After the deadline expired, data believed to have come from the Kadokawa Group was made public, including contracts for streamers who had worked with Kadokawa, data on Dwango employees (a subsidiary of Kadokawa), and most notably, information on students at the N High School Group, one of Japan's largest high schools with nearly 28,000 students enrolled in both on-campus and online classes. The Kadokawa Dwango Educational Institute established the school in 2016.
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Kadokawa apologizes for new data leak after Russian hacker group attack
Kadokawa responded immediately to the leak, offering “deep apologies for the great concern and inconvenience this leak has caused to everyone involved.” Kadokawa said it is currently investigating the authenticity of the leak in cooperation with an outside expert organization and expects to have results by the end of July. While users of the popular Japanese streaming service Niconico are encouraged to change their passwords, Kadokawa has assured users that their credit card details were not stolen. The company also issued a warning to avoid accessing or downloading the leaked data due to malware, adding, “We are currently investigating the contents of the organization’s complaint, but as the dissemination of the above data may infringe on personal information and cause serious consequences, we ask that you refrain from sharing such data on SNS, etc.”
Kadokawa is one of the largest animation production companies in Japan and the world.
Kadokawa is one of Japan's largest anime producers, with major stakes in anime studios ENGI (Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!) and Kinema Citrus (Made in Abyss, My Happy Marriage, The Rising of the Shield Hero). The company also produces numerous anime adaptations of its manga and light novel imprints, including works from ASCII Media Works (Sword Art Online), Enterbrain (Overlord), Fujimi Shobo (High School DxD, Date A Live), and Media Factory (Re:Zero). Kadokawa's involvement in such a wide range of productions is seen as a natural fit for the company's new plan to establish a wholly owned anime studio, consolidating its IP within the company.
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Toei Animation's One Piece and Dragon Ball Also Hit by Ransomware Attack
Kadokawa, along with media conglomerate Toei, have been hit by recent ransomware attacks. In 2022, Toei, the production company behind One Piece and Dragon Ball, was forced to re-release its popular titles for a month due to the attack. The theatrical release of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was also postponed as a result.
Source: The Record, FNN, Kadokawa via X (formerly Twitter)