AI Tools Drive Spike in Cyber Attacks on South Korean Banks and Japanese Firms

AI-powered software is behind a sharp rise in cyber breaches targeting South Korean and Japanese organisations. Nine banks in Seoul and two large churches are investigating attacks that may have used AI assistants, while Japanese groups such as Daiwa Securities, SoftBank Corp and the Lawson convenience‑store chain have also reported incidents. TrendAI data show Japan logged 86 cyber events in September, an 18% jump from August and 37% higher than July, pushing the nine‑month total above last year’s full count. South Korea recorded 1,236 incidents in the first half of the year, a 20% increase on the prior period, with DDoS attacks up 56.7% and ransomware up 76.8%. CrowdStrike linked a suspected 26‑year‑old China‑based hacker to the Korean bank cases, noting the attacker relied on a Chinese AI agent and Anthropic’s Claude Code to automate the campaign. "AI doesn’t get tired… Japan is essentially being carpet‑bombed," said Nobuo Miwa, president of S&J Corp. Experts said AI lets even low‑skill actors scan software, craft phishing messages and hide their tracks, making breaches faster, cheaper and harder to spot. "Capabilities were not terribly sophisticated but they worked," said Adam Meyers of CrowdStrike. Choi Kyoungjin of Gachon University warned that general‑purpose models allow ordinary users with malicious intent to ask the system to locate vulnerabilities. Regulators are responding. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has ordered a 12‑point cyber‑security self‑assessment for the financial sector. In Japan, digital transformation minister Toshiharu Furukawa gathered ministries for a joint meeting and the National Cybersecurity Office plans to issue business warnings.

Context

AI removes language and technical hurdles that once limited foreign hackers, meaning more actors can launch attacks worldwide. This trend pushes companies to upgrade defenses and adopt AI‑aware security measures.