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South Korea is investigating breaches at seven financial institutions that exposed personal data on at least 68,000 people, and President Lee Jae Myung says AI agents may have been used in some of the attacks, The Record reported on October 6.
Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank are among the lenders affected. Shinhan confirmed that details on about 25,000 of its customers leaked. The exposed data includes names, phone numbers, borrowing history and income information. Authorities first disclosed the incidents on September 30.
Investigators have tied 33 IP addresses to the attacks. The addresses trace to at least 12 countries, including Japan, the United States, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong. South Korea's National Office of Investigation has set up a team of 28 investigators, and the Financial Supervisory Service is leading the inquiry.
A server used in the attacks carried a web page titled "ARTEX AI," according to BleepingComputer. Security analysts believe the breaches involved AI-based attack automation tools, though authorities have not officially confirmed the connection. President Lee said it has become possible "to use AI to hack with ease even without specialized skills."
BleepingComputer described the Hana Bank breach as limited in scope. It also reported that credit card information on 119,000 Kookmin Bank clients leaked, a figure that differs from the 68,000 total cited by The Record.
South Korea's Financial Services Commission held an emergency meeting and directed financial companies to inspect all externally accessible IT systems, reduce unnecessary information exposure, share threat information quickly and submit their inspection results promptly. The regulator said it would oversee consumer protection and compensation, and analyze the incidents to identify regulatory changes.
Lee has ordered a thorough investigation into personal data leaks at financial and public institutions. He pledged to act swiftly to minimize the damage.
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