GMO Internet Group has asked the Japanese government to use its new active cyber defence powers against hackers who broke into one of its services.
The company made the request on October 24, in a stock exchange filing, after the attackers demanded money. GMO said it wants state agencies to trace, block and neutralise the attackers' infrastructure, meaning the servers and systems they use to run the operation.
Active cyber defence is the idea that a government does more than advise victims and clean up afterward. It reaches into the attacker's side of the fight and disrupts it. Japan's powers are new, and this filing puts a named company and a specific attack in front of them.
The choice of venue matters as much as the request. A stock exchange filing is a public document aimed at investors, so GMO has put its ask, and the extortion attempt behind it, on the record. Most companies handle a ransom demand through private incident response and quiet contact with police. GMO has instead asked the state to act against the attackers directly.
That makes the government's answer the useful measure of what these powers cover in practice, and whether a private company's appeal can set them in motion.