15-year-old arrestado tras allegedly using ChatGPT to cancel 46,000 anime subscriptions

A 15-year-old student has been arrested after allegedly carrying out a cyberattack that canceled more than 46,000 subscriptions on an anime streaming service.

Por qué esta historia importa ahora

According to Mainichi, the high school student from Japón was arrested on July 4 after investigators linked him to the attack on Bandai Channel, a subscription anime streaming platform operated by Bandai Namco.

El contexto que mueve la conversación

Police allege the teenager discovered a vulnerability in the service before exploiting it to obtain account information and launch an attack against the platform. Investigators say he created the program used in the incident with assistance from ChatGPT.

Qué puede pasar después

The attack took place on November 4, 2025, when the student from Saitama Prefecture allegedly sent false data to Bandai Channel's servers. According to police, the hours-long hack resulted in the unauthorized cancellation of 46,812 subscription accounts.

Lectura rápida para la comunidad

Mainichi reports that parts of Bandai’s service were affected from November 6, with the company restoring full functionality after completing repairs in December. During police questioning, the student reportedly admitted to the allegations.

Code Geass is one of the many shows available on Bandai Channel.

"I started using computers when I was in the fourth grade and taught myself everything I know," he told investigators. "I happened to be able to access the information and had nothing against the company."

Police had also previously arrested the student on June 13 on suspicion of unauthorized access, for allegedly logging into Bandai Channel using the account details of 15 users that investigators believe had been obtained illegally.

This isn’t the only anime streaming news to make headlines this year, as seven operators behind the world’s largest anime piracy streaming site have been arrested in Vietnam following a multi-year investigation involving US authorities.48:Tdd