Toyota halts operations in Japan after suspected cyberattack

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Japanese automaker Toyota announced Monday that it would be shutting down production at all of its domestic plants for a day amid reports that one of its suppliers was hit by a cyberattack.

The world's largest car manufacturer said in a statement that it would be suspending operations Tuesday on all 28 lines of its 14 plants in Japan due to a "system failure" at domestic supplier Kojima Industries Corp., which provides a wide variety of plastic parts and electronics.

Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that the cause of the disruption was a cyberattack on the parts supplier, citing a source close to the company. The shutdown marks the first time Toyota has halted operations due to a supplier's system failure. Some plants operated by Toyota affiliates Hino Motors and Daihatsu will also be suspending operations Tuesday, the report said.

The cyberattack comes on the heels of Japan announcing Sunday that it was joining allies in disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT banking platform, as well as adding additional sanctions and sending $100 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Governments and businesses have been on alert for retaliatory cyberattacks by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was asked by reporters Monday evening whether the attack was linked to the sanctions on Moscow. He replied that the government was still investigating.

"It is difficult to answer without careful confirmation," he said, according to Jiji News Agency.