Chinese-developed security AI agent exploited in hack of major South Korean banks: WSJ

[Financial News] The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 6th (local time) that hackers appeared to have exploited “Artex AI,” which was found to have been used in a recent cyberattack on South Korea’s financial sector, to attack banks.
According to the newspaper, the Korean National Police Agency’s Cyber Terror Investigation Unit said on the 6th that it was investigating who was behind the hacking attack, first detected last week, and how it was carried out. Investigators said they had found traces of “Artex AI,” an open-source artificial intelligence (AI) agent developed by a Chinese cybersecurity engineer, in the attack. The attackers are believed to have launched their attacks using connections routed through around 10 countries, including the United States, Japan and Germany, and more than 20 IP addresses.
The leaked information includes sensitive financial data such as some customers’ annual incomes and personal loan limits, raising growing concerns about follow-on harm such as voice phishing and illegal data trading.
“Artex,” used in the incident, is an open-source AI agent that works with existing large language models (LLMs), including Anthropic’s Claude Opus, OpenAI’s GPT and China’s DeepSeek, to autonomously detect system vulnerabilities and devise attack paths. It was originally developed to check for network security vulnerabilities, but is believed to have been misused by hackers.
As the situation grew more serious, the government also launched an emergency response. At a Cabinet meeting, President Lee Jae-myung said, “Speed is of the essence,” and ordered, “The financial sector and relevant government agencies must immediately implement the necessary security-enhancement measures.”
Moon Jong-hyun, head of the Genians Security Center, warned, “Cyberattacks using AI agents will surge not only in South Korea but around the world in the future.”
The hacking attack breached seven financial firms, including major South Korean banks, exposing the personal information of around 68,000 customers and employees. The realization of an AI-based hacking attack targeting the global financial system is highly unusual, and the authorities immediately launched an investigation.
Meanwhile, concerns over cybersecurity intensified in the wake of the incident, sending the shares of major South Korean security-solutions companies into sharp swings, with some hitting the daily upper price limit. Police and financial authorities are working to determine the exact scale of the leak while focusing on tracking down those responsible in cooperation with foreign investigative agencies.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter