Cyberattack Forces Closure of Toyota’s Japanese Factories

Toyota said it will suspend production at its Japanese factories after a cyberattack directed at a supplier of plastic and electronic components, triggering a loss of about 13,000 cars, according to a on Monday (Feb. 28) Reuters report.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters the country’s government would investigate whether Russia was involved in the cyberattack.

“It is difficult to say whether this has anything to do with Russia before making thorough checks,” he said, per Reuters.

Japan, the U.S. and other countries are looking to place “harsh financial sanctions” on Russia after its unprovoked attack on Ukraine that started last week and continues today. Japan wants to block some Russian banks from having access to the SWIFT international payments system and plans to send $100 million in aid to Ukraine.

The cyberattack, aimed at supplier Kojima Industries, forced Toyota to suspend 28 assembly lines at 14 factories, affecting both first- and second-shift workers.

“We apologize to our relevant suppliers and customers for any inconvenience this may cause,” Toyota said in a statement. “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.”

Toyota said last month that the ongoing chip shortage is likely to cause it to miss its annual production goal of 9 million vehicles.

Related: Nvidia Investigates Cyberattack, Reports Business ‘Uninterrupted’

In other cyberattack news, chipmaker Nvidia’s computer systems were knocked offline for up to two days last week, but the company says it didn’t cause any disruption to the business.

“We are still working to evaluate the nature and scope of the event and don’t have any additional information to share at this time,” the company statement said Friday (Feb. 25).

A report from Chainalysis found that ransomware payments hit $602 million last year, with the real number likely higher.