WannaCry Ransomware Attack Forces Shutdown Of Honda Plant

The infamous WannaCry ransomware virus is still causing havoc at major organisations throughout the world, this time affecting Japanese car manufacturer Honda.

Honda was forced to temporarily halt operations for around 48 hours at its manufacturing plant in Sayama near Tokyo after a WannaCry attack hit its computer network, disrupting the production of around 1,000 vehicles.

Everything is now up and running again, but the episode serves to highlight the damage WannaCry is continuing to cause.

Honda hit

The virus is believed to have affected networks in Japan, North America, China and Europe, despite measures taken by the company to strengthen its cyber security posture in May when WannaCry first broke.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said that the new security measures were not sufficient for the older computers installed at the plant in question.

Speaking to Silicon, Honda said: “In the evening on Sunday 18th June, Honda discovered that the computer systems in several plants across the world were affected by the ransomware virus Wannacry. As a result, production of Sayama Automobile Plant in Japan were affected by approximate 1000 units [sic].

“The recovery work was undertaken immediately, and the production at Sayama has resumed in the morning on 20 June. At this moment, there is no further impact confirmed, but we will continue to monitor the situation and take every step to further strengthen the security of our systems.”

The WannaCry epidemic that affected more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries has been one of the most high-profile cyber attacks in recent memory, primarily to due to the scale and speed at which it spread.

The virus tore through the NHS in the UK and hit the Russian postal service on its journey around the world, before a security researcher discovered a ‘kill switch’ that was able to disable it.

Researchers initially linked the ransomware back to hacking groups in North Korea and this has since been supplemented by research from Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The only positive to have emerged is that it clearly highlighted how seriously businesses need to take cyber security. Too many organisations are relying on outdated systems and this is simply unforgivable in today’s threat landscape.

In Britain, businesses are being bombarded by ransomware attacks and only by making security a priority can organisations truly defend themselves from today’s cyber criminals.

Quiz: Test your knowledge on cyber security in 2017