Honda restarted production at plants hit by a suspected cyber attack

Japanese automaker Honda Motor has restarted production at automobile and motorcycle plants in the United States and other nations after they were hit by a suspected cyber attack this week, a spokesman stated on Friday.

The suspected attack comes less than a month following the Honda reopening of North American vehicle assembly plants, after the closure of factories in late March to adhere to coronavirus-related, shelter-at-home regulations in the United States and Canada.

The spokesman stated the Japanese automaker had restarted vehicle output by Thursday at its major plant in the U.S. state of Ohio, which produces models such as the CR-V SUV crossover and the Accord sedan.

“It appears that our customers’ personal information has not been affected,” the spokesman said by telephone, but refused to comment on any production impact.

Another vehicle plant located in Turkey and motorcycle plants in India and Brazil were back and running by Wednesday, he stated, while some North American call centres and online financial services are still experiencing disruptions.

The suspected attack was the second on Honda’s international network after the WannaCry virus forced it to stop production for a day at a domestic plant in 2017.