Toyota to resume production in Japan after suspected cyberattack
TOKYO — Toyota plans to resume production at all of its 14 factories from Wednesday after they were idle for a day due to a cyberattack on a domestic supplier.
The supplier, Kojima Industries Corp., said Tuesday it found a virus in its computer server. Details were under investigation, he added.
The two companies had found alternative ways to continue manufacturing even though the server issue was not yet resolved, Toyota Motor Corp said. 7203,
spokesperson Shiori Hashimoto.
Kojima supplies Toyota with many items, including air conditioning, steering wheel components, and other vehicle interior and exterior parts. The physical mechanics of production have not been affected by the virus, according to the company, which, like many parts suppliers, is based in the city of Toyota in central Japan.
Japanese business daily Nikkei reported on Tuesday that the problem was ransomware.
Kojima said “a threatening message” was confirmed on Saturday along with a virus in a computer file. He wouldn’t say if it was ransomware. Aichi Prefectural Police were also investigating.
The server issue was partially resolved on Sunday, but the company decided it needed an extra day to get the entire computer system up and running, according to Kojima.
Toyota decided on Monday to stop the 28 lines of Toyota’s Japanese factories for the whole day on Tuesday.
Hino Motors, a Toyota Group truck maker, said two of its factories in Japan were also affected.
Daihatsu Motor Co., a Toyota subsidiary that makes small cars, also halted production at its plant for the same reason. Whether production resumes on Wednesday will be decided later on Tuesday, he said in a statement.