How ChatGPT helped a Japanese teen hack 46,812 Bandai Channel accounts

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 15-year-old high school student for using ChatGPT to write a program used in a cyberattack on Bandai Namco Filmworks’ Bandai Channel streaming service that disrupted the platform and led to the illegal cancellation of 46,812 user accounts.

According to Japanese media reports, investigators believe the teenager exploited a vulnerability in the anime streaming platform in November 2025 and developed a program with the help of AI that automated unauthorised access to member accounts, leading to a charge of fraudulent obstruction of business.