{"slug": "south-korean-megachurches-investigate-suspected-cyberattacks-affecting-hundreds", "title": "South Korean megachurches investigate suspected cyberattacks affecting hundreds of thousands", "summary": "Two South Korean megachurches, Seoul's Yoido Full Gospel Church and Sarang Church, are investigating suspected cyberattacks that may have exposed the personal data of hundreds of thousands of congregants, with cybersecurity firm Oasis Security reporting it found attack records and account information on an overseas server linked to both churches. Yoido Full Gospel Church said an initial analysis found data tied to 850,000 of its members may have been compromised, including names and dates of birth plus a smaller number of records with national identification numbers, addresses and telephone numbers, and Oasis Security said the records included signs that AI tools may have been used, citing references to \"sub-agents\" and automatically generated attack reports. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that signs had emerged of AI being used in some recent hacking incidents involving banks.", "body_md": "# South Korean megachurches investigate suspected cyberattacks affecting hundreds of thousands\n\n## Cybersecurity firm Oasis Security found signs that AI tools were used to help carry out the attacks on the churches\n\nThe personal data of hundreds of thousands of people may have been exposed following suspected cyberattacks on two [South Korean](https://www.foxbusiness.com/category/asia) megachurches.\n\nSeoul's Yoido Full Gospel Church and Sarang Church said they are investigating the attacks, which could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of congregants.\n\nCybersecurity company Oasis Security said it discovered attack records and account information on an overseas server [containing data](https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology) linked to the two churches.\n\nAccording to the company, records of the suspected attacks included signs that [artificial intelligence](https://www.foxbusiness.com/category/artificial-intelligence) (AI) tools may have been used during the cyberattacks.\n\n**WALMART DOUBLES DOWN ON PLEDGE AGAINST AI-POWERED PERSONALIZED PRICING**\n\nOasis Security pointed to references to \"sub-agents\" and extensive attack reports that appeared to have been generated automatically.\n\nOn Wednesday, Yoido Full Gospel Church said an initial analysis revealed that data tied to 850,000 of its members may have been compromised.\n\n[The church](https://www.foxbusiness.com/category/fox-news-religion) said the data includes names and dates of birth, along with a smaller number of records containing national identification numbers, addresses and telephone numbers.\n\nAffected members are being notified by the church, which said it had also blocked external access and changed its server passwords.\n\n**OPENAI'S SAM ALTMAN SAYS AI BENEFITS JUSTIFY ACCEPTING SOME RISKS**\n\nMeanwhile, Sarang Church announced that it had formed an emergency task force following the suspected [cyber incident](https://www.foxbusiness.com/category/cyber-security).\n\nThe church said the breach was reported to authorities and that it is taking additional steps to determine what happened and prevent future incidents.\n\nThe suspected cyber intrusions come after recent hacks targeting South Korean commercial banks resulted in breaches of customers' personal information.\n\nSouth Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that signs had emerged of AI being used in some recent hacking incidents involving banks.\n\n__GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE__\n\n*Reuters contributed to this report.*", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-megachurches-investigate-suspected-cyberattacks-affecting-hundreds", "canonical_source": "https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/south-korean-megachurches-investigate-suspected-cyberattacks-affecting-hundreds-thousands", "published_at": "2026-10-07 05:29:38+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-07 05:46:46.701566+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-agents"], "entities": ["Yoido Full Gospel Church", "Sarang Church", "Oasis Security", "Lee Jae Myung", "South Korea", "Reuters"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-megachurches-investigate-suspected-cyberattacks-affecting-hundreds", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-megachurches-investigate-suspected-cyberattacks-affecting-hundreds.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-megachurches-investigate-suspected-cyberattacks-affecting-hundreds.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-megachurches-investigate-suspected-cyberattacks-affecting-hundreds.jsonld"}}