GMO Launches $1 Million Bounty as Japan FX Brokers Tighten Logins

GMO Internet Group has launched a cybercrime bounty with a total reward pool capped at US$1 million for information leading to the arrest or international wanted listing of those behind the Onamae.com Desktop Cloud incident.

The programme opened at noon Japan time on October 28, following its announcement a day earlier.

Rewards Depend on Qualifying Information

The GMO Cybercrime Bounty seeks specific, verifiable information about the perpetrators, infrastructure and money flows connected to the attack and related offences.

The US$1 million ceiling applies to the entire programme. It may be paid to one qualifying informant or divided among several; submitting information does not guarantee a reward.

GMO says information must be lawfully obtained. The scheme does not authorise independent intrusions, contact with attackers or purchases of stolen data. The group has separately maintained its refusal to meet the attackers’ demands.

Account Incidents at Dukascopy Japan and OANDA Japan

The bounty follows the customer-account incidents covered in BrokersView’s reports on Dukascopy Japan’s unauthorised FX trades and OANDA Japan’s account restrictions.

Dukascopy Japan’s October 28 notice confirmed unauthorised trades in accounts belonging to Desktop Cloud users. It said it had changed passwords for accounts suspected of unauthorised logins, while reporting no confirmed intrusion into its own trading system or information leakage from its systems.

OANDA Japan attributed unauthorised logins and trades to credentials potentially exposed through the external service. Its October 27 notice said customer-information leakage from its own trading systems or internal network had not been confirmed.

FXTF Sets October 31 Authentication Requirements

FXTF said it would require multi-factor authentication for its customer portal and GX trading system after weekly maintenance on October 31. A separate notice schedules mandatory one-time passwords for MT4/MT5 logins from the same maintenance window.

These are scheduled requirements, alongside existing customer-security guidance. OANDA Japan has urged users to change passwords, enable MT4/MT5 two-factor authentication and review trading histories.

For questions about broker security or suspicious account activity, follow BrokersView Q&A.