[사설] ‘AI 해킹’ 당한 은행들, 연 수백억 쓰고도 뚫렸다니

Recent reports have revealed that major domestic banks in South Korea have suffered massive financial losses due to "AI hacking" incidents, despite spending hundreds of billions of won on information protection measures. The vulnerabilities primarily exist in less secure areas of bank networks, such as loan collection verification systems and employee work platforms.

The use of artificial intelligence technology lowers the cost of hacking, broadens the range of potential targets, and makes it more likely for attackers to carry out sophisticated "personalized fraud" schemes.

The Financial Supervisory Service recently released data showing that KB KEB Hana Banks spent approximately 1,240 billion won on information protection in the past year. The report also highlights that Hanjin Bank, Hanara Bank, and others spent 317 billion won, 393 billion won, and 530 billion won, respectively. In total, six banks and 2200+ corporate entities had their customer information leaked in 2022, affecting around 66,000 individuals and 6 million households.

These banks spent hefty sums on information security measures but still failed to safeguard their own internal systems, which turned out to be the weak link in many cases. The security breaches were not limited to core financial networks; they also occurred in employee work systems and other business platforms. While the reasons behind the AI hacking usage and attack sources have yet to be clarified, the increasing number of related warnings indicates that this situation may have been anticipated.

Financial authorities must prioritize tightening security gaps across all bank systems to prevent further damage from such incidents. The leaked personal information could be exploited for voice phishing, SMS fraud, and other financial crimes, which may become even more sophisticated with the integration of artificial intelligence. Though banks have announced compensation plans for hacking losses, it may be challenging for victims to prove that the phishing attacks were a direct result of the data breach.