A text message the extortionist sent to a victim company. Photo courtesy of the Seoul Metropolitan Police AgencyPolice have arrested a group accused of using generative artificial intelligence to hack more than 90 businesses, including an affiliate of a large conglomerate as well as private academies, hospitals and golf courses, stealing 8.2 million pieces of personal data and demanding money from the victims. The ringleader, who has no background in information technology, sharply expanded the scale of the hacking in a short period after beginning to make full use of AI.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s cyber investigation division said on the 26th that it had detained the ringleader, a 32-year-old identified as A, and referred him to prosecutors on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act, extortion and attempted extortion, while six accomplices are under investigation without detention. It is the first time suspects in a large-scale hacking and personal data theft case involving the misuse of generative AI have been caught in South Korea.The group is accused of hacking the websites of private academies, hospitals, golf courses and universities over about 13 months from September last year through this month, taking personal data and internal corporate documents. Using the stolen information as leverage, they threatened the companies and actually collected 300,000 won (about $210) from one of them, while an attempt to extort a total of 360 million won (about $250,000) failed, the investigation found.A sent emails to the hacked companies demanding money, with messages such as “We have stolen your company’s information” and “Do not take lightly the damage to your image, the fines and the customer lawsuits.” When a company did not comply, A mobilized accomplices to call or text executives and staff to pressure them again into paying.The pace of the hacking accelerated notably once A began making full use of generative AI. Early on A operated website vulnerability scanning tools directly, but later used an AI coding agent and an autonomous AI penetration testing system to breach 60 companies in just over 40 days, from Aug. 31 to the 13th of this month.A majored in arts and physical education and has no IT background, telling investigators that the hacking skills were self-taught by watching YouTube and other sources. Police believe, however, that A had considerable knowledge of web hacking, having worked on simulated hacking at a security firm from 2019 to 2022.Oh Gyu-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Cyber Crime Investigation Unit 2, briefs reporters at the agency on the morning of the 26th on the arrest of a suspect in a large-scale hacking case that exploited generative artificial intelligence. Reporter Nam So-jungThe range of victims was broad. One of the companies that lost the most personal data, a funeral services provider, had 1.22 million records taken, and the data stolen from private academies included personal information on minors. Beyond small and mid-sized firms, an affiliate of a large conglomerate and a regional mutual finance institution were also hacked.The autonomous AI penetration testing system A used in the crimes was found to be the same tool used in a recent personal data breach in the financial sector. Police said, however, that no connection between the two cases has been confirmed so far.The accomplices joined the scheme after seeing recruitment posts on Telegram offering “simple phone work” and saying “a 30-second call is all it takes.” They were paid 10,000 to 30,000 won per call. B, who kept in contact with the ringleader, procured accounts used in the crimes and recruited accomplices, is a 24-year-old man. The remaining accomplices range in age from their 20s to their 50s.Police opened the investigation in June after receiving a complaint from one of the victimized companies. As similar cases mounted across the country, they began a comprehensive investigation in August, arresting five people involved in the threats one after another between July and September, then detaining B early this month before identifying and arresting the ringleader, A.Diagram outlining the crime. Photo courtesy of the Seoul Metropolitan Police AgencyAn AI investigative tool developed in-house by police was also used in the inquiry. Police identified A and B as suspects by using AI to analyze about 530,000 pieces of investigative material, including call and account records. Police said the tool allowed a single investigative team to arrest seven suspects in about four months, cutting both manpower and time.Police seized a laptop, burner phones and a wireless router from A’s residence and recovered the stolen personal data stored on them. Fifteen companies have reported damage so far, and police plan to identify additional victims while continuing to trace the criminal proceeds.Oh Kyu-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s second cybercrime investigation unit, said that “crime exploiting AI is evolving to a level that is difficult to counter with existing investigative methods alone,” and urged companies not to send money if they are hacked but to report it to police immediately.
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