Honda hit by cyber-attack across its global operations

Honda has revealed it is contending with a cyber-attack that has impacted its entire network and is preventing it from accessing its computer servers.

The Japanese company took to its Automobile Customer Service Twitter account to reveal it is experiencing technical difficulties and have been forced offline by an apparent virus.

It says the ‘virus has spread’ throughout its network and has affected its production systems out of Japan.

“At this time Honda Customer Service and Honda Financial Services are experiencing technical difficulties and are unavailable. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding.”

It says it is hoping some of the affected sites would be back online today or later this week.

According to the BBC, cyber-security experts believe it is a ransomware attack, which allows hackers access to encrypted data or lock Honda out of its IT systems. 

However, the company says no data has been breached and is quoted as saying ‘at this point, we see minimal business impact’.

Honda’s global operation is vast covering everything from motorcycles, cars, motorsport, lawn mowers, ATVs and aerospace engineering.

In a motorcycle context it is the world’s largest producer of two-wheel models, a title it has held since 1959, reaching a production volume of 400 million by the end of 2019. 

At its peak, Honda was producing three million motorcycles in 1982. though this had slipped to 550,000 by 2006, it is still comfortably the largest producer of motorcycles globally.

 

At this time Honda Customer Service and Honda Financial Services are experiencing technical difficulties and are unavailable. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and understanding.

— Honda Automobile Customer Service (@HondaCustSvc) June 8, 2020