Seven South Korean financial institutions were targeted in hacking incidents that used similar methods, with authorities finding traces of ARTEX AI, an autonomous security auditing tool that uses large language models to identify vulnerabilities and attempt penetration. The affected institutions were Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana, BNK Busan Bank, Yegaram, Welcome Savings Bank and Hyundai Capital. Attackers rotated IP addresses from South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the U.K. Although employee and loan-officer supplementary systems were compromised, no disruption to internet or mobile banking services or financial losses had been confirmed by October 4. Authorities are examining whether publicly available AI tools enabled large-scale automated attacks, while saying the distributed infrastructure makes it difficult to identify a specific country or organization. The National Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Bureau is tracing the attack routes. The incidents also revealed weak identity verification, inadequate mobile-access controls and exploitation of known website-server vulnerabilities, while institutions using multi-factor authentication or timely patching avoided actual breaches. The Financial Supervisory Service distributed attack IPs and security guidance to about 500 financial institutions. Banks and credit card companies must complete inspections by October 6, while securities firms, insurers, savings banks and electronic financial companies face an October 8 deadline. Financial authorities plan sector-wide self-correction audits of basic IT controls by November and warned of strict action after lax inspections if large-scale breaches occur.