Honda plant in Japan halts production for a day after cyber attack

Honda had to stop production for a day at its Sayama plant near Tokyo after a cyber attack crippled its systems on 19th June. It was struck by the same WannaCry ransomware that had wreaked havoc globally last month. Previously Renault and Nissan were also hit by this ransomware.

The Sayama plant is known for producing some of the major brands of Honda Motors, such as Accord, Odyssey and Stepwgn. The plant has a daily output of around 1000 units. The recovery work was undertaken immediately, and the production at Sayama has resumed in the morning of 20 June. Though the ransomware attacked Honda's computer systems worldwide, operations weren't affected at its other plants.

The WannaCry Ransomware is infamous for holding information hostage; in other words, it steals and encrypts data and computers remain inaccessible until a certain ransom amount is paid. Cyber security specialists suggest organizations can incur heavy losses  due to such interferences and the overall cost is much greater than the ransom fee.

Last month at least 99 countries had reported cyber attacks by the WannaCry ransomware, including India. Computer systems in various private organizations and government institutions across the globe, including hospitals and railways, were held to a standstill.