South Korea's president, Lee Jae Myung, stated there were signs that AI models had been used in cyber attacks on banks, as concern mounted over a flood of incidents in the past week. At a cabinet meeting, Lee said hacks had exposed user data at seven financial firms, with evidence of AI use causing "considerable public concern and anxiety." The hackers appear to have targeted less secure systems used by third parties, rather than the banks' core payment networks. In one case, an attacker bypassed identity checks on a portal where loan brokers tracked customers' applications, exposing the details of about 25,000 Shinhan Bank customers.
Last Friday, Moon Jong-hyun, head of Genians Security Center, said evidence suggested that Artex — a Chinese-language, open-source tool that uses AI to find and test computer system vulnerabilities — had been used in some of the attacks. In addition to the Shinhan case, about 40,000 customers at Yegaram Savings Bank and 2,200 corporate clients at Welcome Savings Bank had data exposed. Smaller breaches affected KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank, while BNK Busan Bank and Hyundai Capital reported leaks involving contractors or loan brokers.
At an emergency meeting, Financial Services Commission chair Lee Eog-weon called for "the highest level of vigilance" and said the financial sector should build systems that "defend against AI attacks with AI." The science ministry and its cyber security agency have mounted a 24-hour emergency response and asked cloud providers to block activity from suspect overseas IP addresses.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing