Dive Brief:
- A bout of the WannaCry virus struck Honda this week, leading to a temporary production halt at a plant in Sayama, near Tokyo, Japan, Industry Week reported Wednesday.
- The production of about 1,000 cars was affected. Facilities located overseas are being inspected for a concurrent outbreak. Automakers such as Renault and Nissan were hit in May, as were banks, hospitals, government agencies and hundreds of businesses, including Hitachi.
- As Recode reported in May, poor cybersecurity may lead industrial robots and computers responsible for building cars to be easily accessed by hackers.
Dive Insight:
As the past two months have demonstrated, cyberattacks are growing in frequency, and with them comes an increased need for protection.
Sensitive information like manufacturing specifics and patent data is particularly vulnerable due to its disruption factor: last month Renault was forced to close for four days; it is not yet known when Honda will resolve the hacking, and whether other locations were similarly affected.
Companies of all types cannot risk falling behind on security. Yet the fact that so many do is perplexing at best, since time and again it's been proven that hacking can and will happen. Reasons for inaction range from an aversion to complexity to fear of expense, as well as the potential time invested in researching and locating a qualified security team capable of building an effective protective platform. Whatever the reason for delay, it needs to be resolved, as hacks are happening more often, and at greater cost, every day.
