Kadokawa Group plans its recovery after the June cyberattack, Niconico services to resume 

Eager to move forward after the June 8 cyberattack claimed by the hacker group Black Suits, the Kadokawa Group issued a press release on July 29 regarding its current and future restoration efforts for its Dwango subsidiary.  

Dwango, a Japanese telecommunications and media company that owns the video streaming site Niconico and whose subsidiaries include game developer and localization company Spike Chunsoft, received the brunt of the recent cyberattack on the Japanese media conglomerate. The personal data of all Dwango employees was leaked, alongside legal documents and data related to Dwango’s contractors. 

On the Niconico front, Dwango plans on resuming the website’s major services like Nico Nico Video and Nico Nico Live Streaming on August 5, 2024. Full restoration of Niconico’s services is expected to take place sometime in September. 

Kadokawa’s emergency shutdown of related servers in response to the cyberattack also negatively impacted their distribution system for manga and other publications, causing the company to briefly return to analog methods of distribution. According to their press release, Kadokawa aims to return shipping levels to normal sometime in mid-August before increasing shipments and sales. The company then plans to compensate for pending shipments and product shortages that occurred due to the cyberattack. 

When it comes to wholesale products, Kadokawa aims to correct any account authentication issues with its associated online shops by introducing alternative authentication functions, with back-up plans in place should they fail. 

Kadokawa has yet to disclose the full extent of the cyberattack as well as its impact on the company’s business performance. The company plans to release more information regarding both issues as they get resolved.