AI-Powered Cyberattacks Hit Seven South Korean Financial Firms

Simultaneous cyberattacks from the same IP address hit four banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, BNK Busan) plus three savings and leasing firms. Investigators found ARTEX, a Chinese LLM-based autonomous penetration-testing tool, on all four banks' web servers, suggesting AI-assisted attacks. The Welcome Savings Bank breach exposed over 2,200 corporate customer records.

• KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, BNK Busan, Yeagaram, Welcome and Hyundai Capital affected
• ARTEX, an LLM-based pentest tool from GitHub, found on all four banks' servers
• Welcome Savings Bank leak exposed 2,200+ corporate customer records
• Banks and card firms must report inspection results by Oct. 6