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• The carmaker halted operations in its 14 factories in Japan and did not build any cars on Tuesday
• Toyota’s supplier, Kojima Industries, was unable to operate as usual
Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM) shut its factories in Japan on Tuesday after one of its suppliers was paralyzed by a cyberattack.
Plastic-parts maker Kojima Industries Corp. said it realized it was unable to operate as usual on Tuesday and informed its customer, Toyota, about it.
Toyota halted operations in its 14 factories in Japan and did not build any cars on Tuesday. Toyota said production would restart on Wednesday.
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“It’s better to stop and figure out what the problem is, rather than to continue working while worrying that something might go wrong,” said a Toyota spokesman.
Kojima said it noticed issues with servers late on Saturday and later discovered a computer virus with a threatening message. Kojima said it is not sure if it was ransomware. Toyota is still working with the authorities.
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Kojima was unable to restore normal functioning on Monday and also could not properly exchange information with Toyota about supplying parts.
The carmaker majorly relies on supplies just enough for the day. The Toyota spokesperson said the factories are set to operate the rest of the week with a trimmed-down version of Toyota’s parts-ordering system.
Picture Credits: Bloomberg News