Business & Economy

Toyota resumes production after cyberattack on supplier

Tokyo, Mar 2 (EFE).- Japanese automaker Toyota resumed production at its factories in Japan on Wednesday after suspending operations the previous day following a cyberattack on one of its suppliers, Kojima Industries Corp.

“The reason for resumption is that, although it will still take some time for a full recovery (about one to two weeks) with Kojima’s system, it is now possible for us to use the alternative network,” a Toyota spokesperson told EFE.

In a statement on Tuesday, the manufacturer also apologized to its customers, suppliers, and other related parties for any inconvenience caused by the “sudden shutdown.”

“We will also continue to work with our suppliers in strengthening the supply chain and make every effort to deliver vehicles to our customers as soon as possible,” it added.

Kojima Industries Corp, one of Toyota’s main supplier of components, said that it had suffered a “ransomware” cyberattack that left its servers inoperational on Sunday and received a ransom demand in exchange for the removal of the virus.

The incident led Toyota to suspend operations on all 28 lines at 14 domestic plants, including those of its subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motor Co. on Tuesday, leading to a 5 percent drop in the group’s monthly production, or a loss of 13,000 units.

Japanese authorities are analyzing the case to determine the origin of the cyberattack, which occurred shortly after several countries warned of the possibility that Russia would carry out such attacks against countries that have supported sanctions against it for its invasion of Ukraine.

Tokyo has not ruled out the conflict in Eastern Europe as a possible reason for this and future cyberattacks and has called on the private sector to strengthen computer defenses.

Japan’s top government spokesman, Hirokazu Matsuno, said that the risk of companies being affected by the situation in Ukraine was increasing.

He added that aside from the company itself, entities that do business with them could also be impacted and eventually the supply chain.

Japan has joined the sanctions imposed against Moscow by G7 countries and the European Union, including the exclusion of Russian banks from the international Swift payment system and the freezing of assets of Russian entities and individuals. EFE

mra/pd/tw

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