AI tools suspected in cyberattack that exposed 25,000 Shinhan Bank customers' data
Yonhap reports that advanced AI tools may have been used in a cyberattack on South Korea's Shinhan Bank that exposed data on about 25,000 customers; the bank apologised and pledged full compensation.
Advanced artificial intelligence tools may have been used in a cyberattack on South Korea’s Shinhan Bank that exposed the personal information of about 25,000 customers, Yonhap News reported on Friday.
Attackers probably used sophisticated AI agents to probe for vulnerabilities and gain unauthorised access to a service used by loan recruiters, Yonhap said, citing cybersecurity experts. The AI role is suspected, not confirmed: the exact tools and methods will not be known until the Korea Financial Security Institute completes its probe.
The breach hit a portal for loan solicitation agents on the bank’s “M Shinhan” mobile site. The attacker bypassed standard authentication, then repeatedly cycled through randomised customer identification numbers to extract customer records.
Leaked data includes customer names, phone numbers, annual income and calculated loan limits — plus 66 resident registration numbers and 97 connected information (CI) records. The attack ran from the early hours of 29 September into the early hours of 30 September; the bank detected suspicious activity around 9:30am on 29 September and reported to the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service at 9am on 30 September.
Shinhan Bank CEO Jung Sang-hyuk apologised on Thursday and pledged to “take full responsibility and provide full compensation” for any financial losses. The bank blocked external IP connections and suspended the affected services.
The FSS began an emergency on-site inspection, and the FSC is meeting local banks on Friday. Separately, KB Kookmin Bank said Friday that the personal information of 119 customers had leaked via external intrusion.
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