Toyota shut for day after cyberattack

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Global automaker Toyota has shut its operations for a day in the aftermath of a massive cyberattack, the company said.

The company will resume operations on Wednesday.

The automaker halted its operations across 28 domestic production lines in 14 factories, impacting the output of about 13,000 vehicles, Kyodo News reported.

Its Kojima Industries Corp. in Japan's Aichi prefecture came under a massive cyberattack on Monday which affected operations at all factories.

The Japanese government had last week warned companies to “ramp up countermeasures against cyberattacks amid geopolitical tensions over Ukraine.”

Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan's top government spokesman, urged other companies “to prepare for a heightened risk of such assaults as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.”

Officials at Kojima Industries said its “computer server system suffered a virus attack.”

“A threatening message was also found, raising the possibility that it was attacked by ransomware,” it said, adding the police were investigating the issue.

It is probably the first time that Toyota had to suspend all of its domestic plants due to a system failure at a supplier.

The global industry giant had closed in the past but mainly due to parts shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic.