AI Main Culprit In Picking The Locks At 4 Of A US Ally’s Biggest Banks, President Says

Artificial intelligence may have helped hackers break into some of the biggest banks in one of America’s closest allied countries.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said during a Tuesday cabinet meeting that AI models are believed to have played a role in some of the recent cyberattacks on the country’s commercial banks, according to Reuters. The breaches — which investigators reportedly linked to a Chinese AI hacking tool — mark the latest case of AI-tied intrusions after agents gained unauthorized access to an Australian government health portal in June and previously attempted to break into a Canadian government website in May and June.

“In some hacking incidents, signs have ​emerged of artificial intelligence being used, causing considerable public concern and anxiety,” Lee said, Reuters reported. “Please establish the circumstances swiftly and clearly, and concentrate personnel ​and resources on minimizing the damage.”

Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank and Woori bank were among those attacked, the South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) stated Friday, Reuters reported.

Authorities have since opened an investigation into the cyberattacks on these banks, which exposed customer information, according to Yonhap News. Twenty-eight investigators are looking into potential violations of the country’s Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection — a law which bars breaking into a network without authorization, spreading malware and disrupting networks.

Investigators found traces of ARTEX AI, an open-weight Chinese AI tool, in the attack data, a Korea Financial Security Institute official told Herald Business Saturday.

“It is true that AI was used in the attacks, but the AI did not act independently without human involvement,” the official told Herald Business. “A hacker used the AI as a tool.”

Hackers targeted systems used by bank employees and loan brokers, and officials have found no financial losses so far, ChosunBiz reported Sunday.

The South Korean Embassy, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korean National Police Agency did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Shinhan Bank said Oct. 1 that hackers stole the names, phone number and annual incomes of about 25,000 customers, Yonhap reported Sunday.

Additional breaches appeared at KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, BNK Busan Bank, along with Yegaram Savings Bank, Welcome Savings Bank and lender Hyundai Capital, which resulted in about 66,000 people being affected by the hacking incidents, Herald Business reported.

“[T]he entire financial sector must recognize the severity of the current situation and maintain the highest level of vigilance,” Lee Eog-weon, chair of the Financial Services Commission said at an emergency meeting in Seoul, ChosunBiz reported. “We must also quickly establish security systems that defend AI attacks with AI.”

South Korea announced on Friday that it will spend roughly $3.5 billion on a state-backed frontier AI project beginning in 2027, according to the Korea Times.

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