South Korea warns of possible AI use in banking hacks

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung warned Tuesday that artificial intelligence may have been used in cyberattacks targeting the country’s financial sector, prompting police to launch an investigation. He said more than seven financial institutions, including major banks, reported customer data breaches over the past week. The Financial Services Commission reported that at least 68,000 people were affected. Shinhan Bank said that information attached to loan applications for roughly 25,000 customers—including names, phone numbers, and annual income—was leaked. Lee argued AI can make hacking easier even for people without specialized skills, while officials said the open-source tool Artex AI, believed linked to Chinese systems, was possibly involved; they cautioned that the attackers’ origin can’t be determined from IP addresses alone. The article also notes recent leaks in Japan, including data exposure involving Times Car (6.6 million accounts) and over 10 million app users at a BBQ restaurant chain.