Cybersecurity nightmare in Japan is everyone else’s problem too

Last year, manufacturers Fujimi, Denso, Nichirin and TB Kawashima all experienced cyberattacks on overseas subsidiaries that hold Japanese intellectual property. — Reuters

Kojima Industries Corp is a small company and little-known outside Japan, where it produces cup holders, USB sockets and door pockets for car interiors. But its modest role in the automotive supply chain is a critical one. And when the company was hacked in February 2022, it brought Toyota Motor Corp.’s entire production line to a screeching stop.

The world’s top-selling carmaker had to halt 14 factories at a cost of about US$37mil (RM1.6bil), based on a rough calculation of its sales and output data. Even after the initial crisis was over, it took months for Kojima to get operations close to their old routines.