South Korea bank hacks: The hidden third-party risk AI could make worse | Decoded

A wave of cyberattacks on South Korean financial institutions is raising a new question for banks around the world: could artificial intelligence make sophisticated cyberattacks faster, cheaper and easier to replicate? More than 68,000 people have been affected by recent breaches in South Korea, with President Lee Jae Myung warning that AI may have been used in some of the attacks.

"There are signs that artificial intelligence was used in some hacking attacks, causing considerable concern and anxiety among the public," Lee told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

"We have now reached a point where AI can make (hacking) easy for even those without special skills," he said.

Police have launched an investigation, but authorities have not established that AI definitively carried out the attacks.

What happened in South Korea's bank hacks?

More than seven financial institutions, including some of South Korea's largest banks, have reported data breaches over the past week, according to the Financial Services Commission.

Shinhan Bank said information linked to loan applications belonging to about 25,000 customers had been exposed. The data included names, telephone numbers and annual income.

A government official told AFP it was "highly likely" that Artex AI, an open-source security testing tool believed to be a Chinese AI system, was used in the attacks. That does not establish who carried them out.

Customer information was exposed at several firms, including:

• Shinhan Bank: around 25,000 customers' information was reportedly exposed.
• Hana Bank: 89 customers' personal information was leaked.
• KB Kookmin Bank and others: also reported cyberattacks or attempted breaches.

Authorities said seven financial companies had been affected by the recent attacks. In the Shinhan case, the attackers appear to have targeted a third-party system used by loan brokers, rather than directly breaking into the bank's core payment network.

Sayantani Biswas