Shinhan, Kookmin, Hana data breaches fuel concerns over AI-powered cyberattacks in financial sector

Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank reported data breaches in Seoul on Friday, heightening concerns in the financial sector over AI-powered cyberattacks. KB Kookmin said 119 customers were affected, while Hana Bank said 89 customers had their personal information exposed. Regulators held an emergency response meeting and dispatched investigators to the affected firms.

KB Kookmin Bank said personal information belonging to 119 customers was leaked after abnormal external access to a mobile system used by employees.

Hana Bank said personal information belonging to 89 customers was exposed after an external hacking attempt on its sales support system.

Shinhan Bank disclosed a separate breach affecting about 25,000 customers after an unauthorized party bypassed authentication to access a service used by loan agents.

The Financial Services Commission said it and the Financial Supervisory Service dispatched investigators to the affected firms and shared the IP addresses and intrusion methods with relevant agencies.

The regulators said they would strengthen coordination, monitor intrusion attempts and examine the causes and attack methods to prepare regulatory improvements.

Published Oct 2, 2026 5:15 pm KST

Updated Oct 2, 2026 6:50 pm KST

Generative AI lowers barriers to hacking, raising fears of faster, wider attacks

From left are headquarters of KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank in Seoul / Korea Times file

A series of data breaches at Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank, three of Korea’s largest commercial banks, has heightened concerns in the financial sector over increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks using artificial intelligence (AI).

On Friday, KB Kookmin Bank said that personal information belonging to 119 customers was leaked after abnormal external access to a mobile system used by employees. The leaked information varied by customer and included names, phone numbers, addresses and resident registration numbers in encrypted format.

"We have activated an emergency response system across the company, including a thorough review of all our processes to prevent further damage and recurrence," a Kookmin Bank official said.

Later that day, Hana Bank said personal information belonging to 89 customers had been exposed following an external hacking agent’s attempt to gain unauthorized access to its sales support system. The leaked information included customers' resident registration numbers, names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and workplace information.

The lender said it immediately blocked the relevant IP address, launched an emergency response team and notified affected customers.

"We sincerely apologize for causing concern and inconvenience to our customers," a Hana Bank official said.

The two banks stressed that the compromised systems were separate from their internet and mobile banking platforms and that no customer financial transaction information had been leaked. They also pledged to fully compensate for any losses resulting from the data breach.

On the same day, BNK Financial Group said personal information belonging to 11 outsourced workers had been leaked in a cyberattack, while Woori Bank and NH NongHyup Bank said they had also faced hacking attacks but no information had been exposed.

Those incidents came a day after Shinhan Bank disclosed a data breach affecting about 25,000 customers.

Shinhan said an unauthorized party bypassed authentication to access a service used by loan agents to check the status of applications. The exposed data included customers’ names, phone numbers, annual income and borrowing limits, along with other personal and credit information submitted for loan applications.

According to local media reports, traces of a Chinese-language AI penetration-testing tool were found on a server believed to have been used in the attack against the bank. Regulators' investigation remains underway.

The server’s HTML title reportedly contained a Chinese phrase meaning “AI autonomous penetration testing console,” suggesting a possible link to ARTEX AI, an open-source autonomous penetration-testing system built on a large language model. The server is suspected of having been used in a credential stuffing attack.

Credential stuffing involves using stolen usernames and passwords to attempt to access accounts on other services, often through large-scale automated login attempts.

Security experts say advances in AI are lowering the technical barriers to cyberattacks. The technology is moving beyond suggesting attack methods, with AI agents capable of combining disparate information to identify vulnerabilities, launch attacks and refine their tactics based on the results.

The recent breaches at the country’s major banks have heightened concerns about these evolving threats. Financial institutions face particular risks as customer information is increasingly handled by loan brokers, outsourced service providers and digital platforms.

Amid growing concerns, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s top financial regulator, held an emergency response meeting later in the day. It said it and the Financial Supervisory Service had dispatched investigators to the affected firms as soon as the breaches were reported.

The regulators have also shared details of the attacks, including the IP addresses and intrusion methods used, with relevant agencies to help prevent further damage.

“Preventing data leaks requires financial institutions to maintain a high level of readiness,” FSC Secretary General Shin Jin-chang said. “We will strengthen coordination by monitoring intrusion attempts and rapidly sharing threat intelligence, while examining the causes of the breaches and attack methods to identify and swiftly introduce necessary regulatory improvements.”

Banks scramble to respond to autonomous AI hacking threats

Shinhan Bank hit by data breach affecting 25,000 customers

周五，新韩银行、KB国民银行和韩亚银行在首尔相继报告数据泄露事件，加剧了金融业对人工智能网络攻击的担忧。KB国民银行表示，119名客户受到影响；韩亚银行则表示，89名客户的个人信息遭到泄露。监管机构已召开紧急应对会议，并派遣调查人员前往受影响的银行。

KB国民银行表示，由于员工使用的移动系统遭到异常外部访问，导致119名客户的个人信息泄露。

Hana Bank表示，其销售支持系统遭到外部黑客攻击，导致89名客户的个人信息泄露。

新韩银行披露了另一起影响约 25,000 名客户的安全漏洞事件，原因是未经授权的第三方绕过身份验证访问了贷款代理人使用的服务。

金融服务委员会表示，该委员会和金融监督管理总局已向受影响公司派遣调查人员，并将IP地址和入侵方法分享给了相关机构。

监管机构表示，他们将加强协调，监控入侵企图，并调查入侵原因和攻击方法，以改进监管措施。

发布于2026年10月2日下午5:15（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月2日韩国时间下午6:50

生成式人工智能降低了黑客攻击的门槛，引发了人们对攻击速度更快、范围更广的担忧。

左起分别为韩国国民银行和新韩银行位于首尔的总部大楼 / 《韩国时报》资料图

韩国三大商业银行——新韩银行、KB国民银行和韩亚银行相继发生数据泄露事件，加剧了金融界对日益复杂的人工智能（AI）网络攻击的担忧。

周五，KB国民银行表示，由于员工使用的移动系统遭到异常外部访问，导致119名客户的个人信息泄露。泄露的信息因客户而异，包括姓名、电话号码、地址和居民登记号码等加密信息。

“我们已在全公司范围内启动应急响应系统，包括对所有流程进行彻底审查，以防止进一步的损害和再次发生，”国民银行一位官员表示。

当天晚些时候，韩亚银行表示，由于外部黑客试图非法入侵其销售支持系统，导致89名客户的个人信息泄露。泄露的信息包括客户的居民登记号码、姓名、地址、电子邮件地址、电话号码和工作单位信息。

该贷款机构表示，已立即屏蔽相关IP地址，成立应急响应小组，并通知受影响的客户。

“对于给客户带来的担忧和不便，我们深表歉意。”韩亚银行一位官员表示。

两家银行强调，此次遭入侵的系统与其网上银行和手机银行平台无关，且没有客户的金融交易信息泄露。他们还承诺，将对数据泄露造成的任何损失进行全额赔偿。

同一天，BNK金融集团表示，11名外包员工的个人信息在一次网络攻击中泄露；而友利银行和NH农协银行表示，他们也遭遇了黑客攻击，但没有信息泄露。

这些事件发生在Shinhan Bank披露影响约25000名客户的数据泄露事件的第二天。

新韩银行表示，未经授权的第三方绕过身份验证，访问了贷款代理人用于查询申请状态的服务。泄露的数据包括客户姓名、电话号码、年收入和贷款限额，以及贷款申请中提交的其他个人和信用信息。

据当地媒体报道，在据信用于攻击该银行的服务器上发现了中文人工智能渗透测试工具的痕迹。监管机构的调查仍在进行中。

据报道，该服务器的HTML标题包含一句中文短语，意为“AI自主渗透测试控制台”，这可能与ARTEX AI有关。ARTEX AI是一个基于大型语言模型的开源自主渗透测试系统。该服务器被怀疑被用于撞库攻击。

撞库攻击是指使用窃取的用户名和密码尝试访问其他服务上的帐户，通常是通过大规模的自动登录尝试来实现的。

安全专家表示，人工智能的进步正在降低网络攻击的技术门槛。这项技术不再局限于提出攻击方法，人工智能代理能够整合各种不同的信息来识别漏洞、发起攻击，并根据攻击结果不断优化策略。

近期该国主要银行发生的数据泄露事件加剧了人们对这些不断演变的威胁的担忧。由于客户信息越来越多地由贷款经纪人、外包服务提供商和数字平台处理，金融机构面临着特殊的风险。

鉴于各方担忧日益加剧，该国最高金融监管机构——金融服务委员会（FSC）当天晚些时候召开了紧急应对会议。FSC表示，在违规事件被举报后，该委员会和金融监管局已立即派遣调查人员前往受影响的公司。

监管机构还与相关机构分享了攻击的详细信息，包括 IP 地址和使用的入侵方法，以帮助防止进一步的损害。

金融监督管理委员会秘书长申进昌表示：“防止数据泄露需要金融机构保持高度警惕。我们将加强协调，监控入侵企图，快速共享威胁情报，同时调查数据泄露的原因和攻击手段，以便及时发现并推出必要的监管改进措施。”

银行争相应对人工智能自主攻击威胁

新韩银行遭遇数据泄露，25000名客户受到影响