Toyota forced to close factories after cyber attack on supplier

• by Olivia Lawlor-Blackburn
• Industry News

14 Japanese factories closed after parts supplier Kojima Industries was hit
A cyber attack on automotive parts supplier Kojima Industries on Monday has halted Toyota’s car production in Japan.

A spokesperson for Kojima, a supplier of air conditioning, steering wheel components and other parts to Toyota, confirmed that a virus had been found on its servers.”A threatening message was also found, raising the possibility that it was attacked by ransomware,” the spokesperson said, adding the police were investigating the apparent attack.”

While the means of production were unaffected, according to the company, it was unable to deliver the parts to Toyota’s production lines. As a result, the automotive giant was forced to close all 14 domestic plants on Tuesday, although it plans to reopen on Wednesday. The closure of its production lines will set its schedule back by about 13,000 cars.

The incident has not been attributed to any particular cyber actor, but it occurred shortly after Japan placed sanctions on Russia’s central bank and said it would be sending aid to Ukraine.