Several major South Korean banks have reported data breaches affecting peripheral business systems used by employees and loan agencies. Unlike previous incidents, these attacks targeted external access points rather than core financial networks.
Shinhan Bank reported that its loan agency inquiry system was attacked for three consecutive days starting September 28, potentially exposing the data of 25,729 customers. Kookmin Bank confirmed that 119 customer records were stolen from its mobile business support system on September 30.
Hana Bank also reported a breach in its sales support system involving 89 customers on the same day. Additionally, BNK Busan Bank identified a leak of personal information belonging to 11 outsourced developers on October 1, while Woori Bank and NH NongHyup Bank detected unauthorized external access attempts.
South Korean financial regulators have launched a comprehensive inspection of IT systems across the entire financial sector. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has mandated stricter vulnerability checks, improved identity authentication, and enhanced threat intelligence sharing to prevent future unauthorized access.
While the identities and specific methods of the attackers remain unconfirmed, industry experts suggest that automated AI agents might have been utilized in the attacks. Regulators are currently analyzing the incidents to develop new security protocols and strengthen existing oversight mechanisms.
