South Korea's president says AI appears to have been used in hacks on the country's banks, as regulators put consumers on a phishing alert

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 6 October that AI appears to have been used in some of the recent hacks on the country's banks, Reuters reports. “In some hacking incidents, signs have emerged of AI being used, causing considerable public concern and anxiety,” he said, and he called on officials to develop “cybersecurity methods suited to the AI era”. Reuters names Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank and Woori Bank among the lenders breached.

Authorities have not disclosed what kind of AI tools were used or the full scale of the breaches, according to Reuters. It reports that the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Security Institute shared 28 unique IP addresses and some country information linked to the hacking attempts with the sector. BleepingComputer, citing Yonhap on 5 October, reports that a server used in the attacks had a page title containing a Chinese-language string associated with ARTEX AI, an open-source penetration-testing system that uses agents. Officials have not confirmed that it was used.

On the same day the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service issued a consumer alert at “Level I: Caution” about phishing that uses the leaked data, and opened a one-month special response period. “So far, there have been no confirmed cases of phishing scams resulting in financial damage or money being stolen with leaked consumer data,” the FSC said.

Press reports give figures for how many customers were exposed. They are not in the regulator's release, and the banks' own notices could not be opened from here, so no figure is given.

• Reported Lee told a Cabinet meeting that signs have emerged of AI being used in some hacking incidents, and asked for cybersecurity methods suited to the AI era. Reuters (via NBC News)
• Confirmed The FSC and FSS issued a “Level I: Caution” consumer alert on 6 October, began a one-month special response period, and said no phishing losses from the leaked data had been confirmed so far. Financial Services Commission
• Reported A server used in the attacks carried a Chinese-language string associated with the open-source agent tool ARTEX AI; officials have not confirmed its use. BleepingComputer, citing Yonhap
• Reported Authorities have not disclosed what kind of AI tools were used or the full scale of the breaches. Reuters (via NBC News)