A Chinese developer known as "Autumn-27" has closed the source code for a security testing tool called Artex after it was allegedly used in cyberattacks. Artex was originally created to help companies test and strengthen their computer security by identifying potential weaknesses. On the code-sharing platform Github, the developer stated that the tool had been "diverted by certain malicious actors" to launch cyberattacks, which they said were "totally contrary" to the original purpose of the software. As a result, the Artex project will no longer be updated, and no new versions will be made public. Technical support will also no longer be provided. South Korea's government has suggested that Artex may have been used in hacking attacks targeting seven financial institutions, including major banks, leading to data leaks. The South Korean Financial Services Commission reported that over 68,000 people have been affected by these attacks. One of the affected banks, Shinhan Bank, revealed that the personal information of around 25,000 loan applicants had been leaked, including names, phone numbers, and annual incomes. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned that as artificial intelligence makes cyberattacks more advanced, the damage from such incidents is expanding across all areas, with effects far greater than in the past. In Japan, a dozen companies have reported that their data may have been compromised during a wave of similar cyberattacks, which could affect millions of customers. Japanese police chief Yoshinobu Kusunoki said on Thursday that it was still unclear whether these incidents were connected or what the broader context of the attacks might be. An American cybersecurity firm, Crowdstrike, reported that its research suggested the hacker who attacked South Korean banks used Artex. The firm speculated that the attacker could be a 26-year-old individual based in China, who likely speaks Chinese and is motivated by financial gain. Experts told AFP that making Artex closed source would make it harder for new users to access and modify the code. However, Poe Zhao, founder of the analysis platform Hello China Tech, pointed out that this move would not stop people from using existing copies of the code that were downloaded before it was closed.