Chinese AI Tool ‘Artex’ Used in South Korean Financial-Sector Hack Halts Development ... ‘Can’t Stop Distributed Copies’

[Financial News] A Chinese AI penetration-testing tool called ‘Artex’ (ARTEX), reportedly used in hacking South Korea’s financial sector, has halted development. But warnings say copies already downloaded cannot be deleted or prevented from being used. Halting development alone will make it difficult to prevent misuse.
According to foreign media reports on the 10th, Artex developer ‘Autumn-27’ said in a post uploaded to the developer platform GitHub on the 8th that updates would be discontinued because the tool had been misused in cyberattacks.
The developer said, “In light of the tool’s misuse, Artex will no longer be updated and will transition to closed-source software,” adding, “No further versions will be made available to the public, and no maintenance support will be provided.”
Artex said that using the tool for cyberattacks ran counter to its development intent, but did not directly mention the hacking incident involving South Korea’s financial sector. It also said it would not be responsible for actions that violate laws and regulations through use of the tool. Reuters reported that Artex’s GitHub page had disappeared.
Experts believe that switching to closed-source software will make it harder for new users to obtain the code, but will do little to restrict existing users. An information and communications technology expert in China told AFP that there was no way to deal with copies that had already spread.
Artex is an autonomous penetration-testing program designed to connect with large language models (LLMs), enabling AI agents to analyze attack targets, plan intrusion routes, and then run security tools.
U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike analyzed that attacks targeting South Korean financial institutions continued from late last month into early this month, and that the attacker used Artex together with an LLM.
[email protected] Jeong Won-il Reporter