South Korean police arrest seven in first large-scale AI-assisted hacking case

Seoul police arrested seven suspects for using generative AI to hack about 90 organizations and steal 8.2 million records. The alleged ringleader, a 32-year-old with no IT background, used an AI coding agent and an autonomous penetration-testing tool to breach 60 companies in 44 days in late 2025. Demands totaled about $272,000, but only one payment of $210 was confirmed. Police say this is the first large-scale AI-assisted hacking arrest in South Korea, highlighting how a single individual can now conduct campaigns that once required a hacking group.