15-year-old allegedly used ChatGPT to hack anime platform, unsubscribed 46,000 users in Japan

A 15-year-old high school student in Japan has been arrested after allegedly using ChatGPT to help create a program that triggered a major cyberattack on Bandai Namco Filmworks' Bandai Channel streaming service, forcing the cancellation of more than 46,000 user accounts.

According to reports, which quoted the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, the teenager is suspected of fraudulent obstruction of business after allegedly exploiting a vulnerability in the anime streaming platform in November 2025. Investigators claim he used ChatGPT to assist in writing software that automated unauthorized access to member accounts, leading to the cancellation of 46,812 subscriptions.

The cyberattack left Bandai Channel offline for more than a month. The service was suspended on November 6, 2025, after the company detected that thousands of members had been unexpectedly removed. Full operations resumed only on December 19 after repairs and a cybersecurity investigation.


Police believe the student first identified a weakness in the platform by analysing network traffic before turning to ChatGPT for help in developing the program used in the attack. At the time, he was reportedly in his final year of junior high school.

The arrest came after an earlier investigation launched in June, when the teenager was accused of illegally accessing another user's account and viewing member information. That probe eventually linked him to the larger Bandai Channel breach.

Bandai Namco Filmworks later disclosed that personal information belonging to as many as 1.366 million members may have been exposed. The compromised data included email addresses, nicknames, Bandai Namco Coin balances and selected payment methods. The company said login passwords and credit card numbers were not affected and added that it found no evidence the leaked information had been published online or misused. It also clarified that the incident was not related to ransomware.

Affected customers were individually notified and advised to watch out for phishing and impersonation emails. Users whose memberships had been forcibly cancelled were asked to register again, while the company announced refunds for subscription fees charged during the service outage.

During questioning, the teenager reportedly admitted to the allegations, telling investigators he had "no grudge" against the company. He reportedly said, "I started using computers when I was in the fourth grade and taught myself everything I know. I happened to be able to access the information and had nothing against the company."

Police allege the student sent false information to the company's servers between around 5 pm and 8:45 pm on November 4, 2025, causing the mass cancellation of tens of thousands of accounts. Investigators believe he independently learned programming from elementary school and had a keen interest in analysing network communications.