Japanese video-sharing website Niconico suspends services after cyberattack

Niconico, a popular Japanese video-sharing platform, is investigating a cybersecurity incident that forced the company to shut down its services.

The Tokyo-based company said on Monday that its services were hit by a “large-scale cyberattack” early Saturday, after which the live-streaming platform and user channels were temporarily shut down “to minimize the impact” of the incident.

“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused to users and content providers who regularly enjoy our videos and live broadcasts,” the company said in a statement. It is currently investigating the incident “to understand the full extent of the damage.”

The attack was still ongoing on Monday, Niconico said, adding: “It is difficult to provide updates on future developments until security is assured.”

Niconico is one of the largest video posting sites in Japan, with nearly 1.43 million premium members, about 89 million active members, and 10,180 channels.

Niconico’s parent company, Japanese media giant Kadokawa, confirmed on Sunday that the incident also affected other platforms, including the official website and e-commerce site, likely due to “unauthorized external access” to the servers. The company said it was investigating the attack together with outside experts and police.

Niconico’s services were unavailable until Monday evening (Tokyo time). The company’s website said it was “under maintenance.” The company also said it was working to rebuild its entire system to prevent future cyberattacks.

Niconico said it would inform its users of the results of the investigation at a later date and address questions about membership fees and rescheduled live broadcasts.

It is unclear what type of cyberattack affected Niconico or whether the hackers demanded a ransom. Dwango, the company that operates Niconico under Kadokawa, did not respond to a request for comment.

According to Niconico, no user credit card information was leaked in the incident.

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