South Korean president says AI models were used in cyberattacks targeting banks

At a State Council meeting, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said there are signs that AI models are being used in cyberattacks targeting banks, and that more than a week of incidents have led to data leaks for customers of seven financial institutions. The hackers appear to be targeting less secure systems used by third parties rather than the banks' core payment networks. One attack bypassed identity verification at a loan intermediary's customer-tracking portal, leaking data of about 25,000 Shinhan Bank customers; data of about 40,000 customers of Yegaram Savings Bank and about 2,200 corporate customers of Welcome Savings Bank were also leaked, while KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, BNK Busan Bank, and Hyundai Capital suffered smaller leaks. No theft of funds has been reported. An official with knowledge of the matter said generative AI was used to identify vulnerabilities and launch the attacks.