A "series of major cyberattacks" has been affecting companies in South Korea and Japan for several weeks, according to Nikkei Asia, raising concerns about AI-powered hacking. "Millions of customer records are exposed," the report states. These breaches highlight the rise of cyber threats for Asian businesses, which are increasingly exposed to ransomware attacks, according to the Japanese economic media outlet. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts data and demands payment for its release. Experts suspect the use of generative AI, which allows "the automation of certain operations and targeting victims on a larger scale." TrendMicro, a cybersecurity company, says it has "identified 600 cases of Japanese companies and organizations that reported unauthorized access and other digital incidents at the end of September." This suggests that AI is being used to streamline and scale cyberattacks, making them more efficient and harder to trace. On Tuesday, October 6, the Japanese discount chain MrMax Holdings revealed that "the personal data of 1.73 million of its customers had been compromised." The day before, the Japanese investment bank Daiwa Securities admitted to the leak of "around 220,000 files," compromising the private data of 110,000 customers. On Sunday, the publisher of Nikkei Asia, Nikkei Inc, stated that "an employee's Microsoft 365 account had been hacked," causing the sending of "9,000 fraudulent emails." These incidents illustrate the wide-ranging impact of cyberattacks, from personal data leaks to financial fraud. In South Korea, "seven financial institutions, including major banks Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank, have experienced security vulnerabilities," according to the research firm CreditSights. South Korean media suspect a Chinese AI platform, Artex, of being behind the incidents. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung acknowledged: "We have reached a stage where even people with no skills can easily use AI to conduct cyberattacks." This statement highlights growing fears about the accessibility and potential misuse of AI technology. Japan and South Korea are part of the "five most targeted markets in the Asia-Pacific region between June 2025 and June 2026, with respectively 2,282 and 1,978 incidents, according to the cybersecurity company ThreatBook," which is "20 percent of the attacks recorded by the company." These statistics underscore the increasing frequency and scale of cyber threats in the region, emphasizing the need for stronger digital defenses and international cooperation.