Cyber Attack on Japanese Companies Involves AI Tool from China
October 22, 2026 · 2 min read
A cyber attack targeting Japanese companies reportedly involved an artificial intelligence (AI) agent named 'ARTEX' from China. Multiple foreign media outlets, including Yomiuri Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun, reported on the 20th that a security firm under GMO Internet Group confirmed this information.
The firm identified six overseas public servers that were used in attacks on Japanese companies on September 18. Traces of ARTEX were discovered on all these servers, while no evidence of other AI agents was found, suggesting a high possibility that ARTEX was involved in the attacks.
To date, around 80 companies in Japan's insurance, finance, and logistics sectors have been targeted, with eight of them reportedly suffering from data breaches. ARTEX is an autonomous penetration testing program designed to connect large language models (LLMs) that enable AI agents to analyze attack targets, plan infiltration routes, and execute security tools. It is open-source, allowing anyone to download and modify it for free. Users can choose from multiple AI models, including Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's GPT, and China's DeepSeek.
There are reports that ARTEX was also used in attacks on South Korean financial institutions during the same period. U.S. security firm CrowdStrike analyzed that attacks on South Korean financial institutions occurred between late last month and early this month, utilizing both ARTEX and LLMs.
GMO suspects that targeted campaigns are ongoing based on industry and country. Keichi Furukawa, Japan's cyber security chief, stated that detailed analysis of the potential misuse of AI will be conducted, and necessary information will be provided. A meeting with relevant departments is planned to request strengthened measures for businesses.
Japan has seen a series of data breaches caused by cyber attacks recently, including an incident on the 25th where approximately 6.6 million member records were leaked from the car-sharing service 'Times Car.' The Japanese government enacted a law to strengthen cyber response capabilities last May and implemented 'active cyber defense' from the 1st of this month. However, following a series of attacks on Japanese companies, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the government's response.