South Korean banks are on high alert after a wave of cyberattacks exposed personal data at seven financial firms. Regulators have ordered emergency security checks and are investigating whether a single attacker used artificial intelligence to breach their defenses.
Among the seven financial firms hit by cyberattacks, Shinhan Bank and Yegaram Savings Bank suffered the largest breaches, impacting roughly 25,000 and 40,000 individuals, respectively. Investigators discovered the same attacker’s IP address across all affected institutions, suggesting a coordinated effort.
Cyberattack Investigation
In response to the breaches, the Financial Services Commission held an urgent meeting with industry leaders and mandated that firms restrict external system access to business-critical operations only. FSC Chair Lee Eok-won emphasized the need for heightened vigilance, noting that AI-driven attacks cannot be ruled out.
Shinhan Bank was the first to report a breach, with leaked loan application data exposing names, phone numbers, annual incomes, and borrowing limits. Other major banks, including KB Kookmin, Hana, and Woori, also faced breaches or attempted intrusions.
The attacks extended to regional banks and nonbank institutions like BNK Busan Bank, Yegaram Savings Bank, Welcome Savings Bank, and Hyundai Capital. The consistent presence of the attacker’s IP address across all seven firms led authorities to suspect a single perpetrator using AI tools for simultaneous attacks.
Security Framework Overhaul
Financial regulators are planning a full security framework overhaul to counter evolving cyber threats. They have instructed institutions to limit external access to essential business operations only.
President Lee Jae Myung has demanded a thorough investigation into the hacking incidents. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung stated that Lee urged authorities to treat the matter with gravity, conduct a detailed inquiry, and develop robust countermeasures.
The string of security breaches has raised concerns over whether commercial banks are spending enough on cybersecurity. While Shinhan Bank suffered the most significant breach, its relatively low level of cybersecurity spending has come under scrutiny. Shinhan Bank’s information security budget stood at 40.59 billion won ($30.2 million) this year, the lowest among the top four commercial banks.
Regulators say differences in the damage cannot be explained simply by how much each bank spends on cybersecurity. Instead, they are focusing on how effectively each bank’s overall security framework addressed vulnerabilities in individual business systems. “We need to check the entire security framework to ensure there are no gaps,” FSC Chair Lee said. The Financial Supervisory Service has ordered financial companies to complete an emergency security inspection by Thursday.
