WannaCry forces Honda to shut Japan plant

TOKYO: Honda said yesterday it temporarily halted production at plant in Japan after it suffered a cyber attack from the same ransomware that struck hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide last month.

The Japanese carmaker said it had shut its plant in Sayama on Monday after discovering its computer system was infected with the WannaCry virus.

The virus encrypts computer files, making them inaccessible until users pay a ransom.

“The malware affected the production of about 1,000 cars,” said a Honda spokesman, adding that production restarted yesterday.

“There is a possibility that our overseas facilities are also infected ... We’re now investigating that,” she added.

Honda’s plant produces a number of models, including the Accord sedan and Odyssey Minivan.

The unprecedented global cyber attacks, which started in mid last month, struck banks, hospitals and government agencies in more than 150 countries, exploiting known vulnerabilities in old Microsoft computer operating systems.

Last month, 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.

Nissan’s British unit in Sunderland was also hit in the attack. AFP