Toyota suspends production over cyber attack, Japanese Government investigating

UPDATE, 5:00pm: Toyota Japan has announced it will resume all operations from Wednesday March 2, ending the production halt.

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2:00pm: Toyota has issued a statement regarding the production shutdown, referring to the reported cyber attack as a “system failure”.

“We have decided to suspend the operation of 28 lines at 14 plants in Japan on Tuesday, March 1st (both first and second shifts). We apologise to our relevant suppliers and customers for any inconvenience this may cause,” the statement reads.

“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.”

Chris Grove, product director at software security company Nozomi Networks, said most attackers don’t fully understand the implications of their actions.

“This shutdown of a third of Toyota’s global production should serve as a stark reminder on the complexities of our supply chains, how interdependent these systems are on each other, and the dangers criminals pose to society when they detonate malware in targeted systems,” Grove said.

“Ransomware operators may believe they're hitting an isolated, insignificant victim, but the reality is they don't really know, or understand, the ecosystem they're impacting.”

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12:30am: Toyota will halt all new-car manufacturing at its Japanese factories from Tuesday due to a suspected cyber attack on Kojima Industries, a major parts supply company.

The action will affect 28 production lines across 14 plants, Nikkei Asia reports, with some estimating the decision will reduce Toyota’s monthly output by 13,000 vehicles per day.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida refused to rule out involvement by Russian actors in the crippling cyber attack, which occurred just hours after Kishida pledged his country’s support for Ukraine and announced sanctions against Russia’s central bank.

"It is difficult to say whether this has anything to do with Russia before making thorough checks," Kishida told media, Reuters reports, but vowed the Japanese Government was investigating the incident.

As a major supply partner to Toyota, Kojima Industries is understood to manufacture plastic parts and electronic components for new models.

“It is true that we have been hit by some kind of cyberattack,” an official close to the company told Nikkei.

“We are still confirming the damage and we are hurrying to respond, with the top priority of resuming Toyota's production system as soon as possible."

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Toyota has suffered a number of production delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the global semiconductor chip shortage, with the carmaker quoting a delivery wait time of four years for Japanese customers who order a new LandCruiser 300 Series.

In recent days, some industry analysts have warned international sanctions placed against Russia due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine could cause additional supply-chain disruptions, with Russia supplying 38 per cent of the world’s palladium – a precious metal used in the manufacture of catalytic converters.