South Korea’s financial sector has been hit by another series of cyberattacks, affecting major investment companies including Mirae Asset Global Investments and Daishin Securities, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Daishin Securities confirmed that personal and credit information for 38,490 customers was exposed after suspicious access was detected on a server used for remote account openings. The company said there was no evidence of further harm or unauthorised access to its main business systems. Mirae Asset Global, which manages $461 billion in assets, reported unauthorised access to some business web systems but said retail investor data was not affected and no financial losses occurred.
South Korea’s Presidential Blue House has called an emergency meeting to address the breaches, which follow recent attacks on Japanese financial firms. Japan’s Financial Services Agency has also urged financial institutions to review third-party risks and online identity checks. The incidents come as organisations globally race to patch vulnerabilities in PHP, an open-source programming language widely used on the internet.
The use of artificial intelligence in these attacks has raised concerns about the ease and scale of future breaches. For financial sector leaders, the events highlight the need for immediate review of cyber risk management and closer attention to regulatory expectations. The situation remains fluid as firms investigate the extent of the breaches and regulators consider further action.
