Korean police arrest cyberhacking gang reportedly led by self-taught hacker, who allegedly used AI to breach 60 firms and received a mere $210 in ransom

As AI continues to get smarter, the schemes using it have often become more successful. However, one South Korean cyberhacking gang, reportedly led by a self-taught hacker using AI tools, doesn't seem to have made off with a king's ransom.

Despite allegedly obtaining 8.2 million records and demanding 360,000,000 Won (around $271.77K) from victims, the gang is said to have ended up receiving 300,000 Won (around $210). This is according to Yonhap News Agency, Seoul Economic Daily, and The Chosun Daily, which corroborate reports.

Altogether, the gang reportedly accessed files from over 90 firms, but 60 successful hits came from hacks using AI tools (a mixture of AI coding and an autonomous penetration testing system). The stolen data is said to have included customer information like names, registration numbers, phone numbers, and addresses.

The cyberhacking gang is also said to have sent threatening emails to those affected, saying, "If the data breach becomes public, the company’s reputation will be damaged, …