Attack on South Korean Financial Sector: Hackers Used AI Agent
October 9, 2026 · 2 min read
Also published in Português (Brasil)
Hackers used a Chinese artificial intelligence tool to attack South Korean banks. This represents a new type of threat.
An AI agent targeted Korean banks. According to authorities in South Korea, as a result of the cyberattack using a program called Artex, data from 68,000 individuals was stolen. Hackers employed a Chinese artificial intelligence agent, marking one of the first instances of AI being used to breach the global financial system. Investigators reported that the attacks, detected last week, affected at least seven South Korean financial institutions and showed signs of the use of a cybersecurity tool called Artex AI, developed in China. The Cyberterrorism Division of the National Police Agency announced on Tuesday the initiation of an investigation into the security breach.
Artex is an open-source AI agent created by a Chinese cybersecurity engineer using the pseudonym Autumn. The agent itself is not an artificial intelligence model but utilizes such models to provide services, similar to an insurance agent who does not personally insure homes or cars but helps clients obtain coverage from insurance companies.
Artex was designed for cybersecurity to assist organizations in identifying vulnerabilities in their networks. In this case, however, South Korean authorities believe that malicious hackers used this tool to access banking systems and steal customer and employee data.
Authorities have not yet been able to identify the perpetrators, prompting them to seek international cooperation in the investigation. The attacks were carried out from over twenty IP addresses located in several countries, including the United States, Japan, and Germany. Among the stolen information were data on annual incomes and loan limits.