Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, March 1 (TMTPOST) — Japanese automaker Toyota announced on Monday that they will suspend operation at all plants in Japan on Tuesday due to cyberattack.

It is reported that Toyota shut down production in Japan because one of its main suppliers was hit by cyberattack. The cyberattack disrupted the car component provider’s supply management system.

Toyota has suspended 14 plants and 28 production lines. Its subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu have also halted operation at some of their plants in Japan.

The Japanese automaker said that it will restart domestic production from Wednesday. The production halt on Tuesday affected the production of around 13,000 vehicles, accounting for 4%-5% of Toyota’s monthly output. Toyota apologized to its suppliers and clients for inconveniences caused by the production suspension in an announcement.

The Toyota supplier affected by cyberattack was Kojima Industries, a company specializing in plastic parts and electronic components for vehicles. Kojima Industries said it had discovered an error at one of its file servers on Saturday night, when the company detected a virus. According to the company, they also found a threatening message on the server. However, details of the message were not disclosed. The company said its top priority was to restore the production system responsible for manufacturing parts for Toyota.

A source familiar with the matter said Toyota’s cybersecurity expert was helping Kojima Industries discover vulnerabilities and restore the system.

Toyota has around 400 suppliers, many of which use Toyota’s "just in time" (JIT) inventory management system. Therefore, the cyberattack at Kojima Industries affected Toyota.

Toyota halted production at its plants to prevent long-term impact from the cyberattack and repair the system.

Hino Motors suspended operation at Koga city in Kyushu. The plant manufactures big and mid-sized trucks for export and domestic sale in Japan. The company’s plant in Hamura, which produces small trucks, also halted operation.