{"slug": "south-korean-officials-believe-ai-agents-were-used-to-hack-several-banks", "title": "South Korean officials believe AI agents were used to hack several banks", "summary": "South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that officials are probing a series of bank hacks that authorities believe were likely carried out by AI agents, with the personal data of at least 68,000 people exposed across at least seven financial institutions. Financial authorities have identified 33 IP addresses linked to at least 12 countries, and the National Office of Investigation has created a 28-investigator team; Shinhan Bank alone reported roughly 25,000 customers' data exposed, including borrowing history, incomes, phone numbers and names. Officials believe the Chinese cybersecurity tool Artex AI was used in the breaches, which first came to light on September 30 and are described as the first known example of AI agents hacking the financial sector.", "body_md": "# South Korean officials believe AI agents were used to hack several banks\n\nPresident Lee Jae Myung of South Korea says officials there are probing a series of recent bank hacks that authorities believe were likely caused by artificial intelligence agents.\n\n The personal data of at least 68,000 people was [reportedly](https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/hackers-use-chinese-ai-tool-to-hit-south-korean-banks-exposing-new-risk-5d4d3885) exposed in breaches of at least seven financial institutions, with officials saying they believe the Chinese cybersecurity tool Artex AI was used to hack the banks’ systems. \n\n Financial authorities said they have so far found 33 IP addresses used in the hacks, [according to](https://www.chosun.com/english/market-money-en/2026/10/06/WAMWKUUWWFC5ND3HNXF2HPQGRU/) local news reports. The incidents, which first came to light on September 30, are the first known example of AI agents hacking the financial sector. \n\n The impacted financial companies include Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, the latter of which has [reportedly](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10891104) said personal data belonging to roughly 25,000 customers was exposed. \n\n The breached data included details about individual customers’ borrowing history, incomes, phone numbers and names, the Korea Herald [reported](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10891104). \n\n“Signs have emerged” suggesting AI agents were deployed in at least some of the attacks, Lee said Tuesday.\n\n “It’s now become possible to use AI to hack with ease even without specialized skills,”  Lee [reportedly](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/world/asia/south-korea-banks-hacked-ai.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share) added. \n\nLee pledged to devote significant staff and money to “swiftly and clearly” ensure the hacks do as little damage as possible.\n\n The National Office of Investigation said Tuesday that it has created a team of 28 investigators, [according to](https://m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20261006001500315?section=national/national) local news reports. \n\n The IP addresses have been linked to at least 12 countries, including Japan, the U.S., Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong, a Chinese territory, the country’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) [reportedly](https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-finance/2026/10/06/NKCODDI64RGQRKWTNL65IYTRWE/) said. \n\nIn recent weeks, reports of AI-powered hacks of governments and major companies have proliferated.\n\n Australian officials [said](https://therecord.media/openai-apologizes-australia-medicare-breach) last month that OpenAI agents hacked its Medicare database containing personal data belonging to most of the continent’s citizens.  \n\nOpenAI came under fire after Australian officials revealed the company did not tell them about the hack until several weeks after it happened and used a generic, public-facing email address to make the notification.\n\n The tech giant’s chief strategy officer appeared before Australia’s parliament Tuesday to apologize for the incident. The company has changed its protocols to require that organizations breached by its agents be notified quickly, citing a recent disclosure made within 48 hours of a suspected breach, he [reportedly](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmx2qne2j88wo) said. \n\n In July, OpenAI [disclosed](https://therecord.media/openai-cyberattack-hugging-face) that its agents were responsible for the hack of the AI platform Hugging Face. \n\nSuzanne Smalley\n\nis a reporter covering digital privacy, surveillance technologies and cybersecurity policy for The Record. She was previously a cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop. Earlier in her career Suzanne covered the Boston Police Department for the Boston Globe and two presidential campaign cycles for Newsweek. She lives in Washington with her husband and three children.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-officials-believe-ai-agents-were-used-to-hack-several-banks", "canonical_source": "https://therecord.media/south-korean-bank-hacks-ai-agents", "published_at": "2026-10-06 15:29:22+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-06 15:50:27.158322+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-agents", "ai-safety", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Lee Jae Myung", "South Korea", "Artex AI", "Hana Bank", "KB Kookmin Bank", "Shinhan Bank", "National Office of Investigation", "Financial Supervisory Service"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-officials-believe-ai-agents-were-used-to-hack-several-banks", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-officials-believe-ai-agents-were-used-to-hack-several-banks.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-officials-believe-ai-agents-were-used-to-hack-several-banks.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/south-korean-officials-believe-ai-agents-were-used-to-hack-several-banks.jsonld"}}