South Korea · AI Agent · Decrypt
Hackers Tapped AI Agents to Raid a Megachurch's Database, Exposing 850,000 Members
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Yoido Full Gospel Church, the Seoul megachurch Guinness once recognized as the largest congregation in the world, said Wednesday that personal data tied to 850,000 members may have been stolen.
Key facts
- Sarang's haul is smaller: about 89,000 member records and 286 employee records, including the senior pastor's
- President Lee Jae Myung confirmed Tuesday that AI is believed to have been used in recent hacks on South Korean commercial banks
- Yoido Full Gospel Church, the Seoul megachurch Guinness once recognized as the largest congregation in the world, said Wednesday that personal data tied to 850,000 members may have been stolen
- Yoido Full Gospel Church said it plans to replace its firewall, the filter that blocks unwanted traffic into a network, and bring in security firms to hunt for other weaknesses while it notifies
Summary
Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul said Wednesday that data tied to 850,000 members may have been compromised, including names, birth dates and a log of changes to ID numbers, phone numbers and addresses. Security firm Oasis Security found the data on an overseas server alongside attack logs that referenced AI sub-agents and looked machine-generated, though AI's exact role is unclear. Sarang Church, a second Seoul megachurch, reportedly lost records on about 89,000 members and 286 employees, as South Korea also probes suspected AI-assisted hacks at banks including Shinhan. The church's initial review found names and dates of birth, plus a log of changes members had made to their records.