Toyota Japan factory suspends production due to apparent cyber attack

Toyota was forced to suspend production at all 14 of its plants in Japan starting Tuesday after an apparent cyberattack took down a key parts supplier.

The Tokyo-based automaker did not say whether the shutdown – which is expected to cause 13,000 cars to lose output – will last beyond Tuesday or whether it is related to Russia. .

The company’s factories in Japan account for about a third of global production.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Monday that the government would investigate the incident and whether Russia was involved.

“It is difficult to say if this has anything to do with Russia before conducting a thorough examination,” Kishida said.

A spokesman for Toyota’s supplier, Kojima Industries, said it appeared to have been the victim of some kind of cyber attack but did not provide details.

The apparent attack comes after US experts and government officials warned that Russia is likely to increase its cyberattacks against pro-Ukrainian countries amid Vladimir Putin’s brutal aggression. .

Japan in recent days has pledged $100 million in emergency aid to Ukraine and joined the US and the European Union in removing some Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment system. The country also said on Monday that it would sanction Russia’s central bank.

The hack clearly shows that Toyota’s “just-in-time” manufacturing system – which involves getting parts straight to the production line instead of stockpiling – can be vulnerable to disruption.

Supply chain troubles related to the coronavirus have affected auto production around the world in 2020 and 2021, sending prices for new and used vehicles skyrocketing.

Previously, Toyota’s North American production was also disrupted in February due to protests by Canadian carriers.

Toyota’s New York Stock Exchange-listed shares fell 1.3% Monday morning amid a widespread market decline.

There is a lanyard