(End of the American Dream)—Could insidious forces use ultra-powerful AI agents to create a “financial doomsday” by hacking into banks all over the globe? Financial executives have been forced to prepare for a “day after” scenario because the number of AI cyberattacks is increasing at a blistering pace. As AI models become even more powerful and even more sophisticated, the attacks on our financial system will only get worse. It appears to be only a matter of time until a worst case scenario materializes. How will our economy function when that day suddenly arrives?
We never should have allowed our financial system to become so deeply dependent on the Internet.
Some of our best and brightest minds are creating AI models that are insanely formidable. That technology can be used for good purposes, but it can also be used for evil purposes.
What would you do if you woke up someday and all of the money in your bank account was gone?
What would you do if you woke up someday and all of the money in your entire bank was gone?
There are all sorts of nightmarish hypotheticals that I could mention.
For a long time, U.S. banks were way ahead of the game, but now attacks have become so sophisticated that they are “preparing contingency plans” for a “day after” scenario…
Doomsaying about the coming AI apocalypse is no longer relegated to outbursts from a few tech billionaires.
Now, the major American banks whose policies dictate the flow of capital throughout the world are starting to worry about rogue AI, preparing contingency plans for the “day after” a theoretical AI-driven catastrophe.
Our banks are under constant attack now.
The number of AI cyberattacks on our banks is up 89 percent in 2026…
Based on its analysis of threat activity in 2025, the CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report revealed an 89% increase in attacks by adversaries with AI capabilities. Additionally, it recorded the fastest eCrime breakout time of 27 seconds. These results indicate that once an attacker gains access, defenders have less time to respond. Additionally, they emphasize how AI is increasingly acting as a force multiplier in intrusion operations, malware development, social engineering, and reconnaissance.
Thankfully, our banks have always made security a top priority.
But at this stage the attackers are getting better much faster than the defenders are.
This month has been particularly bad, and that is why it is being called “Black October”…
October 2026 has delivered a troubling wave of cybersecurity developments. Hackers have gained access to more powerful tools, while researchers have uncovered serious weaknesses in widely used software. Security professionals are reportedly struggling to keep pace with increasingly automated attacks. Some have started calling the current wave “Black October.”
Most Americans have no idea that this is going on.
AI is transforming our society at a pace that is difficult to comprehend, and the financial industry is no exception.
Last week, Axios was reporting that large numbers of unvetted AI agents are accessing U.S. bank accounts…
Major U.S. banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents operating inside customer accounts, with some agents attempting to take actions that appear to be independent of user instructions, sources tell Axios.
The good news is that the vast majority of those unvetted AI agents appear to be accessing accounts with the permission of the owners…
“In a lot of cases, this is just going to be customers giving their username or password to an AI agent that the bank hasn’t had a chance to vet yet, that goes against the bank’s terms of service,” Madison Mills, senior AI reporter for Axios, told CBS News. “In other cases, in our reporting, we did find evidence that appeared to look like agents taking actions in customer accounts that were not authorized.”
Examples of agent behavior that a user never approved include the AI calling a bank with a complaint without first consulting the account holder.
“So, really a nightmare of AI agent activity for banks,” Mills said.
On the other side of the world, financial institutions in South Korea are getting hammered by one giant wave of cyberattacks after another…
South Korea’s financial institutions have been hit by another wave of cyberattacks, highlighting the growing risk of AI-driven hacking in Asia. The latest incidents affect brokerages Daishin Securities and Mirae Asset Global Investments, as well as the crypto exchange Bithumb.
The incident comes roughly a month after a series of cyberattacks targeting South Korean financial institutions, raising concerns about vulnerabilities beyond just the country’s banking systems. Security researchers linked the September wave of attacks on South Korea to a suspected China-based hacker who relied on an AI penetration testing tool called Artex, though officials are still investigating the root cause of the latest breaches.
According to local news, Daishin reported a cyberattack that exposed the personal information of 38,490 customers, including names, email addresses, and mobile phone numbers. The company has notified affected customers, is cooperating with authorities in the investigation, and will compensate for any losses as required by law.
This is a national crisis in South Korea.
But things are even worse in Japan.
In fact, the number of cyberattacks has gotten so high that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi “has ordered a package of emergency measures”…
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has ordered a package of emergency measures to respond to dozens of cyberattacks have disrupted operations at organizations ranging from ride-sharing to local police to national government offices to one of the country’s largest online financial infrastructure providers.
Yes, the situation in Japan really is that bad.
The CEO of one Japanese company that just got attacked has ominously declared that digital commerce “is now on the verge of being completely destroyed by malicious actors”…
At that company—GMO Internet—CEO Masatoshi Kumagai apologized to customers for the problems and the potential exposure of their personal data, still under investigation. But Kumagai noted bigger concerns.
“The cyberspace that I built with my colleagues, believing it would bring smiles to people’s faces, is now on the verge of being completely destroyed by malicious actors,” he wrote in a blog post this week. “The underlying issue is the explosive evolution and misuse of AI technology.”
GMO’s cybersecurity unit has determined that in at least 20 of the recent attacks, hackers misused an AI tool intended to help with penetration testing. The hack of his company might have touched 26,739 servers, he said, with the attackers demanding $50 million in ransom.
He is also warning that “the internet itself is now on the verge of breaking down.”
Of course it isn’t just financial institutions that are in danger.
Theoretically, anything that is connected to the Internet could be attacked.
For example, earlier this month a stunning series of cyberattacks shut down refrigeration systems “at hundreds of stores in France”…
Cyberattacks disrupted European supermarket chains, affecting refrigeration systems at hundreds of stores in France and forcing a major grocer to shut down websites serving customers in Europe and the United States.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told Parliament on Tuesday that about 700 of the country’s 10,000 supermarkets were affected. He said there was no risk to France’s food supplies but acknowledged that the attack “touches the heart of our food security.”
“It was a wake-up call for everyone,” he said.
Refrigeration systems were also recently attacked at military bases here in the United States, and the Pentagon still has no idea who did it…
The Pentagon is treating the spate of mysterious freezer malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the United States in August as a suspected hack, according to four officials familiar with the matter.
One of the officials said the military investigators were in touch with their French counterparts about a similar cyberattack on commercial freezers that disrupted supermarkets there earlier this month.
Reuters was not able to ascertain how far along the Pentagon’s investigation was or whether it had reached any conclusions about what happened or who might be responsible. When asked about the investigation, the Pentagon said that a unit of Cyber Command — the military’s cyber force — was “working in close coordination with interagency and law enforcement partners.” It did not elaborate.
If you have a device that is connected to the Internet, it could potentially get attacked.
I know that sounds scary, but that is the world that we live in now.
Could AI cyberattacks cripple our government?
Could AI cyberattacks take down our power grids?
This month, several governments around the world have been urging their citizens to stockpile food, water and other supplies.
Are AI cyberattacks the threat that they want people to prepare for, or is it something else?
I have more questions that I do answers.
But what we do know is that the threat of AI cyberattacks is intensifying with each passing day.
We have been very fortunate up to this point, but one of these days our good fortune may run out very suddenly.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
