Hacking attacks believed to have used AI occurred simultaneously at at least 6 banks in South Korea, and the leakage of customers' personal data was confirmed at Shinhan Bank and other banks. At BNK Busan Bank, information on an employee of an outsourced service provider also leaked.
From 1 to 2 October, hacking attacks believed to have used AI tools occurred simultaneously at at least 6 banks in South Korea. The leakage of customers' personal data was confirmed at the country's three major banks, Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank.
Information has been reported to have leaked at BNK Busan Bank concerning an employee of an outsourced service provider. The attacks targeted security vulnerabilities that differed from bank to bank, including employee-facing websites, rather than core computer networks. There are also indications that the attacks involved autonomous intrusion by AI agents.
The Financial Services Commission held an emergency meeting on 2 October and instructed banks and the card industry to conduct simultaneous inspections of their computer systems. The damage from AI hacking is believed likely to spread to industries outside the financial sector as well.
Experts have pointed out that financial institutions' security measures have failed to keep pace in some respects with the evolution of AI-enabled attack techniques.