Attack Details and Impact
Japanese authorities have arrested a 15-year-old high school student from Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, for allegedly orchestrating a cyberattack on Bandai Channel, a streaming service for anime and tokusatsu content owned by Bandai Namco Filmworks. The teenager reportedly used a program built with the help of ChatGPT to gain unauthorized access to the platform’s backend servers and systematically cancel the registrations of over 46,800 members. The attack forced Bandai Namco Filmworks to temporarily suspend all platform services in November 2025 while the company investigated the breach and restored operations by December 2025.
AI-Assisted Exploitation and Investigation
According to police, the suspect created a custom program leveraging OpenAI’s ChatGPT to automate account access and mass deletions. The investigation revealed that the boy began learning programming independently around fourth grade and developed enough skill to weaponize AI-generated code for repeated automated attacks. During the intrusion, the attacker also harvested member information including email addresses and nicknames, though the company stated there is no confirmed evidence of public data leakage. The teenager admitted to the charges, telling investigators he had no grudge against the company, suggesting the attack was motivated by technical curiosity rather than financial gain or malice. This case highlights a growing trend of threat actors, including minors, using generative AI to lower the technical barriers for creating exploitation tools.
Source: Cyber Security News
