Developer of AI hacking tool used in South Korean financial breaches to go private

The developer of ARTEX, a Chinese-made AI penetration testing tool believed to have been used in a series of cyberattacks against South Korean financial institutions, has announced it will halt updates and transition the tool to closed source.

"Autumn-27," the developer of ARTEX, posted a message on the developer platform GitHub on Thursday saying the tool "had been misused" and that, "considering the improper use of the tool, ARTEX will no longer be updated and will transition to closed source."

"No further versions will be released to the public, and no maintenance support will be provided," the developer added.

The ARTEX team said using the tool for cyberattacks runs counter to the developer's intentions, though it stopped short of directly referencing the hacking incidents in South Korea.

The team also said it would not be held responsible for any actions taken using the tool that violate laws and regulations.

ARTEX's GitHub page has since been taken down.

Experts said moving to closed source could make it harder for new users to build on the code. However, a Chinese information and communications technology expert told AFP that the decision would not remove copies already downloaded or prevent existing users from continuing to use them.

ARTEX is an autonomous penetration testing program designed to connect to large language models, enabling AI agents to analyze targets, plan attack vectors and execute security tools.

US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said attacks targeting South Korean financial institutions took place between late September and early October, with the attackers using ARTEX in combination with large language models.