Ransomware attack on KADOKAWA reveals that all employee information of Dwango and personal information of some creators using its 'music monetization service' have been leaked

As a result of the ransomware attack that KADOKAWA suffered on June 8, 2024, it has been discovered that personal information of all employees of Dwango, including contract employees, temporary employees, part-time employees, and some former employees, as well as personal information of some employees of affiliated companies, and some personal information of creators who used the 'music monetization service' provided by Dwango, has been leaked onto the Internet.

Notice and apology regarding data leak caused by ransomware attack
(PDF file)

Notice and apology regarding information leak due to ransomware attack | Dwango Co., Ltd.

[Important Notice] We have posted a notice and apology regarding information leaks due to ransomware attacks. Regarding Niconico account passwords, which we have received many concerns about, they are encrypted (※) before being stored in the system, so even if they were leaked, it is unlikely that they would be misused immediately.

— Niconico Official (@nico_nico_info) June 28, 2024

According to announcements from KADOKAWA and Dwango, the cybercrime group claiming to be responsible for the attack, 'Black Suit,' claimed to have leaked the stolen information. Upon checking the details, they confirmed that some of the information held by KADOKAWA and Dwango had been leaked.

The leak was confirmed when
・Personal information of all employees of Dwango Co., Ltd. (including contract employees, temporary employees, part-time employees, and some former employees)
・Personal information of some employees of Dwango Co., Ltd. affiliated companies
・Internal documents
-Personal information of some creators who use the music monetization service (NRC)
- Information on companies run by some former employees
・Contracts, quotations, etc. with business partners
Apparently that's the case.

In addition, since the company does not hold credit card information for users of the group, including Niconico, the system is set up in such a way that there is no risk of information leaks from Kadokawa or Dwango.

The 'Music Monetization Service' is a convenient service that launched on July 25, 2023, where creators can focus on their creations by having Dwango collectively distribute user-created original songs, such as Vocaloid songs, to various music distribution services and SNS, and then manage and monetize them on their behalf. There are no registration or annual fees, and you can register just one song. There are three ways to monetize: music distribution revenue, YouTube advertising revenue, and copyright revenue.

Music monetization service | Deliver to music subscriptions and social media all at once!
https://site.nicovideo.jp/music_rights/

Dwango will distribute and monetize users' original music on music subscriptions and SNS 'Music Monetization Service' to start on July 25th 'Niconico Commons' to stimulate derivative works | Dwango Co., Ltd.
https://dwango.co.jp/news/5177678239891456/