Toyota Motors, a Japanese automaker, was forced to suspend production as a result of a cyberattack that one of its suppliers, Kojima Industries, experienced.
“It is true that we have experienced a cyberattack of some kind. While we are still assessing the damage, we are moving quickly to respond with the top goal of restarting Toyota’s production system. According to a source close to Kojima Industries, Nikkei.
Toyota Motor Corporation collaborates with Kojima Industries, a supplier of interior and exterior vehicle plastic parts.
“On Tuesday, March 1st, we have decided to cease the operation of 28 lines at 14 factories in Japan due to a system failure at a domestic supplier (KOJIMA INDUSTRIES CORPORATION) (both 1st and 2nd shifts). For any trouble this may have caused to our pertinent customers and suppliers, we sincerely apologize. according to a statement released by Toyota Motors. In order to strengthen the supply chain and expedite the delivery of automobiles to our clients, we will continue to engage with our suppliers.
The corporation has chosen to stop operating 28 production lines across 14 sites in Japan as of tomorrow, March 1, 2022, in reaction to the event.
NikkeiAsia reports that the manufacture of 13,000 automobiles, or 4% to 5% of Toyota’s monthly output in Japan, will be impacted by the shutdown.
Daihatsu Motors and Hino Motors, two Toyota subsidiaries, will also be impacted by the stoppage, though it is unclear how this will affect their respective automakers’ production at this time. The closure of three plants has been announced by Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motors.
Local media also highlighted the attack’s hypotheses; according to the Tokyo NP website, Kojima was the victim of a cyberattack.
“The administration is attesting to the reality. Fumio Kishida, the prime minister, stated.
He declined to say that it was “impossible to answer without confirmation” regarding his ties with Russia. website Tokyo NP reported. ” This is reportedly the first time Toyota has closed all of its plants because of a supplier’s system malfunction. The potential of a cyberattack is currently being looked into by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
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Toyota: Was Japan the site of a hack?
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.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated that the government was looking into the origin of the attack during a regular news conference on Tuesday. He also cautioned businesses to strengthen their cybersecurity in view of the developing turmoil in Ukraine.
He continued, “There is a possibility that the harm from the assaults might have a broad impact not just on the supply chains of firms themselves, but also on their customers. The risk of cyberattacks is rising.
In recent years, cyberattacks have become more frequent in Japan. Japanese businesses have been slow to update their networks to take into consideration criminals’ increasing use of ransomware and state actor incursions. The attacks, which may essentially hold computer systems and valuable data hostage, have most frequently targeted manufacturers.
After the pandemic wrecked havoc on global supply lines and resulted in shortages of semiconductors and other components, Toyota had to drastically reduce output, as had many other automakers.
Toyota made an upbeat announcement last year that it intended to produce 9.3 million vehicles worldwide by March 31the conclusion of its fiscal yearafter the initial waves of the virus had subsided and the demand for cars had soared globally.
However, the business was forced to scale back those plans, first to nine million, and then, in February, to eight and a half million as a result of soaring semiconductor demand and persistent infection waves.
Toyota had already planned temporary shutdowns in March at a number of factories in Japan due to a lack of parts before the issues at Kojima Industries.
The production of 13,000 vehicles was halted as a result of the announcement made on Monday, according to a Toyota spokeswoman. The business announced in a statement that production would resume on Wednesday.
Despite the losses, Toyota has been able to use the knowledge gained from the earthquake and tsunami that wreaked havoc on northeastern Japan in 2011 to adapt to the pandemic’s disruptions better than its rivals, leading the world in auto sales for two years in a row.
Heavy truck and bus manufacturer Hino, a Toyota affiliate, announced in a statement on Monday that it would also halt operations at two plants due to issues with an unnamed supplier. Local media sources claim that another subsidiary, Daihatsu, has stopped some of its output.
Has Toyota been compromised today?
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.
What led to Toyota’s closure?
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.
Toyota has the production stopped?
- Due to the lack of semiconductors, Toyota Motor stated on Tuesday that it would reduce its global production target by around 100,000 units, or to about 850,000 vehicles, in June.
- The business maintained its forecast that 9.7 million automobiles will be produced globally by March 2023.
- Additionally, the automaker reported the suspension of additional domestic assembly lines owing to a supply shortfall brought by by the Covid-19 lockout in Shanghai.
Why are Toyota parking lots vacant?
The COVID-19 pandemic knocked the automotive sector off balance, and it has been nearly impossible to get back on pace due to the continuous chip shortage. The epidemic and the chip scarcity have caused new vehicle stocks at dealerships to run out and vehicle prices to soar as a result.
Is there a Toyota plant in Russia?
One of Toyota’s automobile manufacturing facilities in Europe was in Russia. It is situated in Shushary, Saint Petersburg, Russia, and produces the RAV4 and Camry since 2007. (since 2016).
Has Toyota Japan started up again?
After a one-day stoppage, Toyota Motor Corp. will resume operations at all of its Japanese facilities on Wednesday, reducing the effects of a cyberattack on one of its major suppliers. The top auto manufacturer in the world will restart operations at all 14 of its domestic factories on Wednesday, according to a statement released by Toyota on Tuesday.
What went wrong with Toyota in Japan?
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.
According to the publication, he stated, “It is difficult to say whether this has anything to do with Russia before making full examinations.”
On the same day, further sanctions against Belarus were put in place and Japan joined Western nations in banning dealings with the Russian national bank.
Early this month, protesters’ obstruction of a bridge spanning the U.S.-Canada border caused deliveries of auto parts to be delayed, forcing Toyota and other automakers to halt production in North America.
In which US locations are the Toyota plants?
The majority of Toyota vehicles you see on the road are made in your own country. The states of Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, and Mississippi all have Toyota manufacturing facilities, and they all contribute to the creation of some of the company’s best-selling vehicles. The list of Toyota automobiles made in the USA, along with the locations of their factories, is provided below.
Toyota Vehicles Made in the USA
- Nissan Sienna (Princeton, Indiana)
- Mitsubishi Outlander (Princeton, Indiana)
- Tundra Toyota (San Antonio, Texas)
- Tacoma, Toyota (San Antonio, Texas)
- Honda CR-V Hybrid (Georgetown, Kentucky)
- Honda Accord (Georgetown, Kentucky)
- Honda Accord (Georgetown, Kentucky)
- Corolla, Toyota (Blue Springs, Mississippi)
- Sequoia Toyota (Princeton, Indiana)
Other Toyota Plants in the USA
Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia are also home to Toyota manufacturing facilities. The automaker’s North American vehicle assembly plants alone produced roughly 2 million vehicles in 2018.