The supplier, Kojima Industries Corp., said Tuesday it had
found a virus in its computer server. Details were under investigation, it said.
The two companies had worked out alternative ways to carry
on with manufacturing even though the server problem was not yet resolved, said
Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto.
Kojima supplies Toyota with many items including
air-conditioning, steering wheel components and other parts for vehicles’
interiors and exteriors. The physical mechanics of production were not affected
by the virus, according to the company, which like many parts suppliers is
based in Toyota city in central Japan.
The Japanese business daily Nikkei reported Tuesday the
problem was ransomware.
Kojima said “a threatening message” was confirmed Saturday
along with a virus in a computer file. It would not say if it was ransomware.
The Aichi Prefectural police were also investigating.
The server problem was partly solved by Sunday but the
company decided it needed an extra day to get the overall computer system
going, according to Kojima.
Toyota decided on Monday to halt all 28 lines at Toyota’s
Japan plants for all of Tuesday.
Hino Motors, a Toyota group truck maker, said two of its
factories in Japan were also affected.
Daihatsu Motor Co., a Toyota affiliate that makes small
cars, also stopped production at its plant for the same reason. Whether
production will resume Wednesday will be decided later Tuesday, it said in a
statement