Toyota Pulls Plug After Hack Attack

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Toyota’s main corporate website in Japan has been hacked. According to a Toyota spokesman in Tokyo, Toyota’s main corporate website at www.toyota.co.jp was penetrated by unknown attackers. Data on the site was changed, the hack then led users to a fraudulent website, where they may have caught malware. According to a Toyota statement, the malware should be detected by modern malware checkers.

The site was compromised from June 5 through June 14. Following detection of the hack, the site was taken down. Some parts of the site have been resurrected; however, many parts are still down and will not be back up before the early parts of July.

Toyota’s alternate URL at www2.toyota.co.jp/news/ , previously a favorite address for reporters looking for Toyota news, is down completely.

According to the spokesman, no sensitive data was stolen. Toyota currently does not have any clues of where the attacks originated. An investigation is underway.

This is not the first time Toyota has been the target of hackers.

In August 2012, a former IT contractor hacked into Toyota’s supplier system, sabotaged software, stole proprietary plans for parts, and pricing information, Automotive News [sub] said.

Last month, the official Toyota news and information blog for the UK was penetrated by Turkish hackers using the handle 1923Turk.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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