TOKYO The largest automaker in the world, Toyota, announced on Tuesday that it would resume domestic production in Japan after being forced to halt it due to a cyberattack on a significant supplier.
Following a malfunction with the company’s ordering systems, Kojima Industries, a producer of automobile components, was forced to halt production. The issue first surfaced Saturday night, and the business chose to shut down its computer network to stop it from affecting consumers, according to a company spokesman.
Government representatives revealed Kojima Industries had been the target of a cyberattack on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon, the company’s website was still unavailable.
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Toyota: Is it hackable?
Toyota has experienced a number of other hacks, including one in 2019 in which millions of consumers’ personal information was exposed. According to reports, the swindle cost the business $37 million. It was widely suspected that Russia, which has a sizable force of hackers who target private sector, governmental institutions, and public infrastructure, was responsible for another attack in 2021 that targeted a U.S. parts subsidiary.
The output loss is particularly troubling given that Toyota and other manufacturers have been battling an ongoing chip shortage. Due to this, the global automotive industry’s production fell by millions of vehicles in 2017.
Toyota was hacked when?
According to Reuters, the biggest carmaker in the world is stopping production at one-third of its facilities. After one of its suppliers was hacked, Toyota says it will temporarily suspend producing automobiles in its Japanese factory.
The supplier in question is known as Kojima Industries, and it creates composite and plastic components for Toyota’s hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles as well as interior automobile parts. According to Reuters, a Toyota representative referred to the incident as a “supplier system failure.”
Toyota will consequently shut down 28 production lines at 14 sites throughout Japan starting on March 1.
Hackers are increasingly targeting Toyota. At least three breaches of the automaker’s security occurred in 2019: a malware attack in Australia, a breach of 3.1 million customers’ data in Japan (and perhaps Thailand and Vietnam), and a $37 million-costing swindle.
Toyota experienced another breach in 2021, this time through a US-based parts business, in what is thought to have been a Russian-related incident.
However, Toyota is not the only carmaker that has had to suspend operations as a result of a security breach. Honda had to suspend building vehicles at facilities in Ohio and Turkey, as well as motorbikes in India and South America, according to a study we published in 2020.
A limited amount of further information, including any probable suspects, is available concerning today’s cyberattack. Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, did assert that his country would look into any potential ties to Russia.
Toyota is it closing down?
The most recent suspensions will decrease the output of Toyota-branded vehicles, such as the Crown and Yaris sedans, the RAV4, Harrier, and C-HR crossovers, and the Land Cruiser SUV.
The Lexus LS and IC sedans, RC and LC coupes, and NX SUV will also be impacted.
Toyota refused to say specifically which parts supplies were impacted by the earthquake.
Toyota shut down just one day after reducing production from April to June due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a global semiconductor scarcity, and increased supply chain insecurity.
Toyota reduced its April global output by 17% to 750,000 vehicles. The earthquake and the war in Ukraine were not taken into account in that forecast as potential disruptions.
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake, which occurred on Wednesday just after 11:30 p.m. local time, was located in the same area as the 2011 earthquake-tsunami tragedy that led to meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It was centered off the Pacific coast from the northeastern city of Sendai.
The most recent earthquake resulted in a tsunami, blackouts as far away as Tokyo, the derailment of the nation’s renowned bullet train, and buckling of highways that act as vital supply routes.
Japanese national broadcaster NHK stated that three people died and 190 were injured as a result of the earthquake.
On Friday, vendors close to the epicenter were gradually restarting their activities.
What took place at the Toyota factory?
Due to a “system malfunction” at one of its local suppliers, Toyota was forced to halt manufacturing in Japan on Tuesday.
Toyota, one of the biggest automakers in the world, was forced to halt operations at 14 of its Japanese plants on Tuesday local time due to the alleged attack, which had an impact on the manufacturing of around 13,000 automobiles.
In a statement, a Toyota representative stated, “We apologize to our customers and suppliers for any trouble this may create. “We will make every effort to deliver automobiles to our customers as quickly as possible,” says the company. “We will continue to work with our suppliers to strengthen the supply chain.”
The purported cyberattack’s originator is unknown, but according to Reuters, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated his country would look into possible Russian involvement.
How safe are Toyota automobiles?
Toyota is renowned for producing some of the safest vehicles available. Toyota not only equips its cars with a ton of clever safety features, but they also perform well in crash tests. The Toyota Camry is one of the safest vehicles in the world as a result.
Can a keyless automobile be compromised?
A transceiver embedded inside a keyless fob can transmit and receive radio signals that are encoded. When the key is out of range, the automobile and the key communicate using these distinct, encrypted signals to lock the doors and unlock them, respectively. Keyless entry features enable auto thieves to enter a target vehicle without actually having the key.
Right outside your home, one of the most popular keyless auto theft methods may be completed in under two minutes. The theft is carried out by criminals using two tools.
The signal from your automobile key is first replicated or amplified, and this signal is then transmitted to a different transmitter.
Even if your key is indoors, this is still relatively simple to accomplish because the technology used by criminals stretches the signal from the key inside your home, fooling the automobile into thinking it is close enough to unlock.
The automobile can then be started, opened, and driven away using this transmitter as an extra key (as long as the car also features keyless start, which is when a car starts via a button rather than the physical turning of a key in the ignition). Once the vehicle has been taken, it might be exported, disassembled for parts, or resold using forged paperwork.
Is Toyota currently producing again?
In its March 2023 fiscal year, which ends, Toyota expects to produce 9.7 million automobiles. After producing 8.2 million in fiscal 2021, it produced roughly 8.6 million automobiles in fiscal 2022. To lower car prices, production must be increased more quickly.
The Toyota logo is what?
The current Toyota emblem has its roots in 1989, when it was first used to mark the company’s 50th anniversary. Three ovals are integrated in this unusual logo in a horizontal symmetrical pattern. The two parallel ovals inside the larger oval stand for the company’s and the customer’s hearts, respectively. They are positioned so that they overlap to signify a partnership and mutual trust.
Toyota’s production has been stopped; why?
Toyota claims that due to the coronavirus shutdown in Shanghai, it would shut down further production lines at its Japanese factories this month. According to the company, the production halt would start on Monday and last through the end of the following week.