Hackers Used AI Agents to Raid a Megachurch's Database, Exposing 850,000 Members

What happened

Seoul's Yoido Full Gospel Church says data on 850,000 members may be compromised, and a security firm found signs AI helped run the attack. Decrypt News Artificial Intelligence Hackers Used AI Agents to Raid a Megachurch's Database, Exposing 850,000 Members Seoul's Yoido Full Gospel Church says data on 850,000 members may be compromised, and a security firm found signs AI helped run the attack.

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. The church's initial review found names and dates of birth, plus a log of changes members had made to their records.

In brief 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. 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.

Key facts

• 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
• The church's initial review — found: names and dates of birth, plus a log of changes members had made to their records