Japanese automaker Toyota said Monday it was halting operations at all its domestic plants for a day after a reported cyberattack on a parts supplier.

"Due to a system failure at a supplier in Japan, we have decided to suspend the operation of 28 lines at all 14 domestic plants on March 1 (for both 1st and 2nd shift)," the world's top-selling automaker said in a statement.

The Nikkei newspaper reported that the decision came after a suspected cyberattack hit a parts manufacturer supplying Toyota, but a spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. [1]

Figure 1. Toyota Halts Works at Japan Factories After Reported Cyberattack

Figure 1 shows the suspected attack forced Toyota, one of the world's largest auto manufacturers, to suspend operations at 14 of its Japanese plants on Tuesday local time, affecting the production of about 13,000 vehicles.

"We apologize to our customers and suppliers for any inconvenience this may cause," a Toyota spokesperson said in a statement. "We will continue to work with our suppliers to strengthen the supply chain and make every effort to deliver vehicles to our customers as soon as possible."

The company said there was no impact on production in North America.

While it was unclear who caused the apparent cyberattack, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government would investigate whether Russia was involved, Reuters reported. [2]

Many of the roughly 400 tier 1 suppliers that Toyota deals with directly are connected to the automaker's kanban just-in-time production control system, which allowed the problems at Kojima Industries to spill over to Toyota. The automaker halted production to prevent longer-term damage, and prioritized inspection and recovery of the system.

The Toyota shutdown includes a Daihatsu plant in Kyoto Prefecture. The halt is expected to reduce output by a few hundred vehicles.

"We are aware of media reports" on the incident, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Monday night. "The government is working to confirm the situation." Law enforcement is also looking into the matter. [3]

References:

1. https://gadgets360.com/transportation/news/toyota-cyberattack-japan-work-halt-stop-factory-hack-2794764
2. https://www.npr.org/2022/02/28/1083550554/toyota-stops-production-in-japan-after-a-cyberattack-hits-one-of-its-suppliers
3. https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Supply-Chain/Toyota-halts-operations-at-all-Japan-plants-due-to-cyberattack

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), Toyota Halts Works at Japan Factories After Reported Cyberattack, Anatechmaz, pp. 153