South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s financial regulator, has instructed banks and credit card issuers to carry out sweeping security reviews after a wave of cyberattacks struck Shinhan Bank and KB Kookmin Bank, exposing weaknesses in systems that sit outside core banking networks.

According to The Korea Herald, the directive followed an emergency meeting on Friday, led by FSC secretary general Shin Jin-chang, where officials exchanged details of the recent breaches, including how the attacks were carried out, and weighed the sector’s response.

Shin told lenders and card companies to examine every IT system that can be reached from outside their networks. Attackers had targeted less-protected platforms, such as a Shinhan Bank service used by loan agents and a mobile work-support tool for KB Kookmin Bank staff, using artificial intelligence agents.

The scale of the incidents is growing. Shinhan Bank disclosed on Thursday that data on roughly 25,000 customers was compromised after code linked to its communications infrastructure was hacked.

An internal review at KB Kookmin Bank found that details on more than 100 customers had been exposed through an outside intrusion. Industry sources said on Friday that Hana Bank and BNK Busan Bank had also suffered leaks.

Under the FSC’s instructions, firms must map every IT asset and service open to external access and scrutinise vulnerabilities and access controls, whether or not those systems serve customers. They must also reduce the volume of information visible externally, close any pathway that lets users reach internal data without authentication, and make sure authentication is enforced whenever internal information is accessed.

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