Banks race to ramp up AI defenses as deposits fall after cyberattacks

Korean banks saw deposits fall by more than 20 trillion won in 11 days after a wave of data breaches, prompting them to increase cybersecurity spending and use AI-based defenses. Demand deposits at the five largest lenders dropped from 675.5 trillion won on Sept. 30 to 655.4 trillion won on Sunday. Banks are hiring specialists and deploying AI tools to test vulnerabilities and respond to AI-driven attacks.

Fixed-term deposits at the five lenders fell by more than 2.7 trillion won to slightly above 1 quadrillion won after rising for five consecutive months.

Shinhan Bank reported that about 25,000 customers were affected, while KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank reported 119 and 89 affected customers, respectively.

KB Kookmin Bank plans to raise its information security budget from 86.1 billion won this year to more than 100 billion won next year.

Woori Bank is considering increasing security-system spending by more than 20 percent and expanding its specialist workforce by at least 10 percent.

NH NongHyup Bank plans to introduce an AI red-teaming system in the second half of next year to test AI models, data and services for vulnerabilities.

Published Oct 11, 2026 3:47 pm KST

Updated Oct 11, 2026 4:28 pm KST

ARTEX developer's update halt unlikely to prevent further attacks

Customers use an ATM at a KB Kookmin Bank branch in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap

A wave of recent data breaches at major Korean banks is putting pressure on both customer confidence and the industry’s defenses, with deposits at these lenders declining by more than 20 trillion won ($15 billion) in just 11 days, according to industry officials, Sunday. They are now stepping up security spending and hiring specialists to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI)-driven attacks.

Demand deposits at the country’s five largest lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — totaled 675.5 trillion won on Sept. 30, but dropped to 655.4 trillion won as of Sunday. Fixed-term deposits, which had risen for five consecutive months, also fell by more than 2.7 trillion won to slightly more than 1 quadrillion won.

On Oct. 1, Shinhan Bank first reported that about 25,000 customers were affected, with names, phone numbers, annual income and loan limits exposed. The following day, KB Kookmin reported 119 affected customers, while Hana Bank said personal information belonging to 89 customers was exposed.

Lenders are responding with bigger security budgets, more specialized staff and greater use of AI to test their own defenses.

KB Kookmin Bank plans to increase its information security budget to more than 100 billion won next year, up from this year’s 86.1 billion won.

Shinhan Bank said it will set next year’s information security budget at “the highest level in the industry.” It has not disclosed a specific amount.

Woori Bank is considering increasing spending on security systems by more than 20 percent from this year and expanding its specialist workforce by at least 10 percent.

Banks are also using their own AI tools to find weaknesses before attackers do.

Woori Bank uses Xint, an AI-powered security testing tool developed by Korean firm Theori, alongside tools developed in-house. Xint generates attack scenarios and runs penetration tests to identify vulnerabilities.

KB Kookmin is testing AI defense technologies with several security firms, including Stealth Solution. Its in-house ethical hackers are also assessing how well active defense systems can respond to different types of AI-driven attacks.

NH NongHyup is set to introduce its own AI red-teaming system in the second half of next year. The system will probe AI models, data and services for vulnerabilities from an attacker’s perspective.

Hana Bank, meanwhile, is working on systems that can respond to hacking attempts on devices and servers in real time. It is also pursuing AI-based cybersecurity and automated penetration testing platforms.

“Because security personnel cannot manually keep up with attacks that use AI, we are working to make greater use of AI in our own defenses,” an official at a major bank said.

Meanwhile, ARTEX, a Chinese open-source AI cybersecurity tool reportedly used in the attacks, is no longer being developed for public release. Its developer, who goes by “Autumn-27,” said on GitHub that the tool had been “abused by some bad actors.”

“Given the misuse of the tool, the ARTEX project will no longer be updated,” the developer wrote. “No further versions will be released to the public.”

This, however, doesn’t affect copies that have already been downloaded and in circulation, meaning the move is unlikely to prevent further attacks using ARTEX. The possibility of similar attacks involving other AI agents has also become a more immediate concern.

[EXPLAINER] How AI emerged as new threat in Korea's bank hacking crisis

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韩国银行业在经历一系列数据泄露事件后，11天内存款减少超过20万亿韩元，促使各银行加大网络安全投入并采用人工智能防御措施。五大银行的活期存款从9月30日的675.5万亿韩元降至周日的655.4万亿韩元。各银行正在聘请专家并部署人工智能工具，以测试漏洞并应对人工智能驱动的攻击。

在连续五个月上涨后，五家银行的定期存款下降了超过 2.7 万亿韩元，略高于 1 万亿韩元。

新韩银行报告称约有 25,000 名客户受到影响，而 KB 国民银行和韩亚银行分别报告称有 119 名和 89 名客户受到影响。

KB国民银行计划将其信息安全预算从今年的861亿韩元增加到明年的1000亿韩元以上。

友利银行正在考虑将安保系统支出增加 20% 以上，并将专业人员队伍扩大至少 10%。

NH农协银行计划在明年下半年引入人工智能红队系统，以测试人工智能模型、数据和服务是否存在漏洞。

发布于2026年10月11日下午3:47（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月11日下午4:28（韩国标准时间）

ARTEX 开发人员暂停更新不太可能阻止进一步的攻击

周日，顾客在首尔一家国民银行分行使用自动取款机。（韩联社）

韩国多家大型银行近期接连发生数据泄露事件，令客户信心和银行业安全防护面临巨大压力。据业内人士周日透露，短短11天内，这些银行的存款就减少了超过20万亿韩元（约合150亿美元）。目前，各大银行正在加大安全投入，并聘请专家以应对日益复杂的AI（人工智能）攻击。

韩国五大银行——KB国民银行、新韩银行、韩亚银行、友利银行和NH农协银行——的活期存款总额在9月30日达到675.5万亿韩元，但截至周日已降至655.4万亿韩元。此前连续五个月增长的定期存款也下降了超过2.7万亿韩元，略高于1千万亿韩元。

10月1日，新韩银行率先披露约有2.5万名客户信息泄露，包括姓名、电话号码、年收入和贷款额度等。次日，KB国民报报道称有119名客户受到影响，而韩亚银行则表示有89名客户的个人信息被泄露。

贷款机构正在通过增加安保预算、配备更多专业人员以及更多地利用人工智能来测试自身的防御措施。

KB国民银行计划明年将其信息安全预算增加到1000亿韩元以上，高于今年的861亿韩元。

新韩银行表示，明年将把信息安全预算设定在“业内最高水平”，但未透露具体金额。

友利银行正在考虑从今年起将安保系统方面的支出增加 20% 以上，并将其专业人员队伍扩大至少 10%。

银行也在利用自己的人工智能工具，在攻击者之前发现漏洞。

友利银行使用韩国公司Theori开发的AI安全测试工具Xint，以及其自主研发的工具。Xint能够生成攻击场景并运行渗透测试，从而识别安全漏洞。

KB Kookmin正与包括Stealth Solution在内的多家安全公司合作测试人工智能防御技术。其内部的道德黑客也在评估主动防御系统对不同类型人工智能驱动攻击的应对能力。

NH农协计划于明年下半年推出自主研发的AI红队演练系统。该系统将从攻击者的角度探测AI模型、数据和服务中的漏洞。

与此同时，韩亚银行正在研发能够实时应对设备和服务器黑客攻击的系统，并积极探索基于人工智能的网络安全和自动化渗透测试平台。

一家大型银行的官员表示：“由于安全人员无法手动应对使用人工智能的攻击，我们正在努力在自身的防御中更多地利用人工智能。”

与此同时，据称被用于此次攻击的中国开源人工智能网络安全工具ARTEX已停止公开开发。其开发者“Autumn-27”在GitHub上表示，该工具已被“一些不法分子滥用”。

“鉴于该工具被滥用，ARTEX项目将不再更新，”开发者写道。“不会再向公众发布任何新版本。”

然而，这并不影响已经下载并流传的副本，这意味着此举不太可能阻止利用ARTEX发起的进一步攻击。涉及其他人工智能代理的类似攻击的可能性也已成为更紧迫的担忧。

【解读】人工智能如何成为韩国银行黑客危机中的新威胁

韩国加大力度追踪银行网络攻击背后的黑客

人工智能驱动的银行网络攻击暴露了韩国金融网络防御的技术滞后