Regarding the possibility raised that a resident of China was involved in cyberattacks against South Korea's financial sector, the Chinese government stated that it "does not know the specific circumstances" while reiterating its principled stance of opposing hacking activities.

Mao Ning, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave this response during a regular briefing today when asked about a report released by U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The report suggested that Chinese-made artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used in the hacking of South Korean financial institutions and that the attacker likely resides in Guangdong Province, China.

Mao emphasized, "China consistently opposes and cracks down on hacking activities in accordance with the law," adding, "We are even more firmly opposed to the spread of misinformation for political purposes."

Earlier, CrowdStrike stated in a report released on the 7th (local time) that the individual suspected to be behind the cyberattacks targeting South Korean financial institutions is likely a 26-year-old residing in Guangdong Province, China.

The attacker is analyzed to have combined Chinese-made AI penetration testing tools such as Artex with various AI models including DeepSeek, while utilizing a command-and-control server in Hong Kong, a separate attack server, and bypass access routes to consecutively target seven domestic financial institutions.

CrowdStrike clarified, however, that this analysis is based on circumstantial inference and does not constitute a definitive identification of identity.

(Photo: Yonhap News)