South Korea orders bank security inspections after cyberattacks hit major lenders

The regulator has moved to on-site checks and faster threat sharing as banks review exposed systems and access controls.

South Korea’s financial regulator opened emergency probes after a cluster of attacks hit banks, including a confirmed breach at Shinhan Bank and other incidents affecting Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank. The response now includes on-site inspections, instructions for banks to audit externally reachable systems and weak access controls, and a push to share threat data and submit internal security reviews quickly. Local reporting says Shinhan exposed details for 25,000 customers and Kookmin leaked credit card information for 119,000 clients. Investigators have not named an attacker, but Korean reporting pointed to signs tied to ARTEX AI, and a security executive said analysts suspect AI-driven attack automation was involved.