The South Korean National Office of Investigation is currently examining three cyberattack cases targeting the country's banking sector. These incidents resulted in the exposure of personal data belonging to approximately 25,000 customers. President Lee Jae Myung has publicly addressed the situation, noting that the attacks appear to involve the use of AI models.
According to the President, the integration of AI tools allows individuals to execute cyberattacks with ease, even in the absence of specialized technical skills. He has directed his cabinet to verify the details of these breaches and implement measures to mitigate further damage. The identity of the perpetrators remains unknown, as attributing such attacks is complex.
The incident highlights growing concerns regarding the misuse of AI for malicious purposes. Security experts note that hackers are increasingly leveraging AI agents to identify and exploit system vulnerabilities. While major AI labs are implementing safeguards, open-source and open-weight models often lack these protections, facilitating unauthorized activities.
Previous instances of AI-orchestrated attacks have been documented, including a November 2025 incident reported by Anthropic and subsequent attacks targeting Taiwan. Furthermore, researchers have demonstrated that AI models can be manipulated to access internal codebases or execute malware, underscoring the role of AI as a force multiplier for cybercriminals.
