Toyota supplier Denso under a ransomware attack, operations remain normal

Toyota Motor Corp.'s supplier Denso Corp. said that it was the target of a ransomware attack last week. However, this couldn't cause any disruption in the operation of the automaker, claims a Bloomberg report. Denso claimed that it promptly responded to unauthorized access to its networks in Germany on Thursday. This came as the second recent cyberattack against a Toyota supplier.

Toyota had to idle all of its factories in Japan owing to a cyberattack on Kojima Press Industry Co., which is one of the automaker's suppliers. The production resumed after a day, but it came as another blow to Toyota, as the automaker has been aiming to revive its production lost in recent months owing to the semiconductor shortage and Covid-19 related disruptions.

The report claims that a group named Pandora allegedly accessed Denso's systems, threatening to disclose the supplier’s trade secrets such as emails, invoices and part diagrams on a website on the dark web. This is not the first time an automotive company faced such a ransomware attack. Previously as well, several automakers and their suppliers have become targets for cyberattacks. Such cyber-attacks not only endangers the automaker's crucial classified data but disrupt the overall operations as well.

Toyota had been relatively resilient to supply chain snags through most of the pandemic. The auto company has been aiming to ramp up its production to make up for lost output and meet soaring global demand for new vehicles. However, it announced a production cut in Japan a few days ago. Last Friday, it said that it's would cut the company's Japan production output by 20 per cent in April, 10 per cent in May and five per cent in June.