A few weeks ago, we covered the news about Kadokawa Group, a major player in the realm of Japan’s anime and manga industry, owning numerous franchises like Konosuba!, Mushoku Tensei, Elden Ring, and more.

They faced a major server attack that disrupted several of their official websites, including the video hosting platform Niconico, Kadokawa’s main website, and the ebten e-commerce platform. However, the situation escalated significantly when they confirmed yet another hack, leading to the loss of over 1.5 TB of company data.

In an official press release, Kadokawa confirmed a new server attack on June 28th resulting in the loss of over 1.5 TB of information. While the statement assured that sensitive data did not include user or employee banking details, Kadokawa urged against using any potentially compromised information on their sites pending investigation.

The compromised data reportedly includes personal information, future business strategies, and ongoing projects across Kadokawa’s extensive portfolio of companies. The potential leakage of such data could significantly impact their various media platforms negatively.

Adding to the urgency, the hackers, identified as “Black Suit,” have set a deadline for Kadokawa to meet their ransom demands by July 1st. Kadokawa faces a critical situation requiring swift resolution to mitigate the widespread implications for many stakeholders.

However, the looming threat that Black Suit may leak or sell the data regardless of payment complicates the resolution process, similar to the recent incident where Rhysida targeted Insomniac Games, resulting in the leak of substantial data, including an in-development build of Marvel’s Wolverine.

Kadokawa has acknowledged the recent series of attacks, and is actively collaborating with external services to fortify its network environment and server security following what they term as a “system failure.” This proactive approach is crucial, especially after the alleged data breach at AMD a couple of weeks ago, which compromised confidential employee data and source code.

While this incident undoubtedly impacts the corporation, the primary victims are the affected employees whose personal data, including contracts and contact information at Kadokawa has been accessed by Black Suit.

The potential exposure of Kadokawa’s business plans, including presentations and contractual details, is concerning as it could be publicly disclosed on July 1st. Such leaks could impact upcoming projects like FromSoftware’s Elden Ring and Bloodborne, as well as previous ties with developers like Mages, who became independent from Kadokawa Group in 2019 as Black Suit also proclaim they’ve gained access to “project related data” such as coding.

The effect of these recent attacks on Kadokawa’s overall performance for the fiscal year remains uncertain, particularly after recent financial results indicated a decline in sales and profits in their gaming sector which is likely to be negated by the recently released DLC expansion for Elden Ring.

Conversely, their animation and film sectors saw a significant 1110.9% increase in operating profits year-over-year, driven by successful titles such as Oshi no Ko, The Eminence in Shadow, and Overlord.

Kadokawa pledges to keep stakeholders informed with the most accurate information available through its official channels, aiming to provide reassurance amidst these challenges.

As one of the largest companies globally, Kadokawa holds substantial stakes in numerous developers and iconic franchises in anime and gaming The impact of these attacks has resonated with thousands of users worldwide who engage with these beloved properties