Chinese AI cybersecurity tool Artex will no longer be open-source after its developer acknowledged that “bad actors” had misused it to launch cyberattacks, following South Korea’s warnings linking the tool to recent bank hacks.
Artex was designed to help organisations strengthen cyber defences by identifying potential weaknesses. However, South Korea’s government said this week it was “highly likely” the tool had been used in data breaches at more than seven financial institutions, including major banks.
The developer, known as “Autumn-27”, said on Thursday that the project would no longer be updated and would become closed-source.
“Given the misuse of the tool, the Artex project will no longer be updated and will be converted to closed-source,” the developer wrote on GitHub, adding that no further public versions or maintenance support would be provided.
The developer said using Artex for cyberattacks was “entirely contrary to” its intentions.
Banks and companies targeted
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said more than 68,000 people had been affected by the hacks. Shinhan Bank said information linked to loan applications for around 25,000 customers had been leaked, including names, phone numbers and annual income.
Meanwhile in Japan, around 20 companies have reported possible data compromises in similar attacks that could affect millions of customers.
Police chief Yoshinobu Kusunoki said it remained unclear whether the cases were connected.
US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said its investigation suggested the attacker had used Artex and was potentially a 26-year-old based in China. It described the suspected threat actor as “likely a Chinese speaker and financially motivated”.
Limits of closing the code
Experts said making Artex closed-source could make it harder for new users to obtain and adapt, but would not remove copies already downloaded.
“Because the code was public, people could download it, change it and run it themselves,” said Poe Zhao, founder of Hello China Tech.
Ilya Kulyatin, CEO of Foundry Labs, said open-source tools can allow users to remove built-in restrictions, making some forms of misuse easier. However, he added, openness also allows researchers to inspect code, identify weaknesses and improve defences.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Tuesday that as AI makes hacking more sophisticated, the scale of damage is spreading across areas in ways that are difficult to compare with the past.
