South Korean Police Find Evidence AI Tool Used in Bank Hacks Exposing Data on Seven Financial Firms

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on October 6, 2026, that AI models are believed to have been used in recent hacking incidents against commercial banks, with police launching investigations into breaches at Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, BNK Busan Bank, Yegaram Savings Bank, Welcome Savings Bank, and Hyundai Capital, according to Reuters and NBC News. The Wall Street Journal reported October 6 that investigators found traces of Artex AI, a free open-source penetration testing tool developed by Chinese cybersecurity engineer Li Puhua, on attack servers. DataBreachToday reported October 7 that the breaches exposed data pertaining to more than 60,000 individuals, while The Wall Street Journal and multiple other outlets put the total at approximately 68,000 people exposed across the seven institutions. Financial regulators shared information about 28 IP addresses linked to recent hacking attempts with the financial sector.

The breaches exposed data on approximately 68,000 individuals across seven financial institutions. Authorities have not yet disclosed the full scale of the breaches or details on how the AI tools were deployed, leaving uncertain both the extent of compromised information and whether the attacks represent state-linked activity, criminal use of available tools, or other motives.

Sources

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