Three Students Arrested for Hacking Rakuten Mobile Using ChatGPT

TOKYO, Feb 28 (News On Japan) - Three teenage students have been arrested for illegally accessing Rakuten Mobile’s system using a self-developed program created with the help of generative AI. They allegedly used the program to fraudulently obtain mobile contracts.

The suspects, three boys ranging from third-year junior high to first-year high school students, are accused of illegally logging into Rakuten Mobile customer accounts to contract communication lines.

The trio met through online gaming and purchased approximately 3.3 billion stolen IDs and passwords via a communication app. Using generative AI, specifically ChatGPT, they developed a program to repeatedly access accounts, ultimately securing around 1,500 mobile contracts.

They allegedly resold the contracted lines, acquiring approximately 7.5 million yen worth of cryptocurrency. One of the students, a third-year junior high schooler, admitted to the charges, stating, “I wanted to gain attention on social media.”

Source: FNN

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