GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae said on October 19 that follow-up analysis of attack infrastructure confirmed hackers used ARTEX, an AI autonomous penetration-testing tool, against Japanese companies, after earlier digital forensics had suggested AI was likely involved. The infrastructure targeted about 20 Japanese firms, nine of them in the same industry, and the researchers found six more AI-powered attack hosts aimed almost exclusively at Japanese companies, each focused on a different sector such as digital gifts and retail, insurance and finance, or e-commerce, media and logistics. GMO noted that CrowdStrike had reported on October 7 that attacks on South Korean financial institutions in late September and early October also involved ARTEX, which CrowdStrike described as Chinese-developed with attackers possibly using Chinese; GMO said it has shared its findings with law enforcement and is investigating whether the campaign is limited to Japan and South Korea.