TOKYO – Honda said Wednesday it had temporarily suspended production at plant in Japan after it suffered a cyberattack from the same ransomware that affected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide last month.
The Japanese automaker said it had halted its plant in Sayama, near Tokyo, on Monday after discovering its computer system was infected with the so-called WannaCry virus.
The virus encrypts computer files, making them inaccessible until users pay a ransom.
According to a spokesperson of Honda, the cyberattack affected the production of about 1,000 cars, adding that production restarted on Tuesday.
Honda’s plant produces a number of models including the Accord sedan and Odyssey Minivan.
The unprecedented global cyberattacks, which started in mid May, struck banks, hospitals and government agencies in more than 150 countries, exploiting known vulnerabilities in old Microsoft computer operating systems.
In May, French auto giant Renault was hit, forcing it to halt production at sites in France, Slovenia and Romania as part of measures to stop the spread of the virus. – APP
