Japanese car giant Honda has been hit by a ransomware attack that has forced it to put manufacturing on hold at some locations.
The ransomware attack was first discovered on Sunday, with Honda putting production on hold in certain locations the following day to deal with a "disruption" in its computer network, according to NBC News.
The most popular ransomware strains targeting UK businesses How to beat ransomware What are the different types of ransomware?
Reports claim Honda employees in the US were also turned away from their offices on Monday morning as IT equipment and phones were still offline.
Cyber security researchers claim to have found evidence that hackers have created a custom variant of the "Ekans", or "Snake", ransomware to encrypt an internal Honda network and demand ransom in exchange for a decryption key.
The so-called "Ekans" ransomware is a type of malware that has been designed to target industrial control systems and to evade anti-malware tools. It was recently used to target Germany-based Fresenius Group, Europe's largest private hospital operator, forcing it to postpone surgical procedures.
Honda has yet to confirm the ransomware attack but did state that it has suffered a security incident that has impacted its operations in Europe.
"This is currently under investigation, to understand the cause," a Honda spokesperson said.
"At this point, there is no effect on either Japanese production or dealer activities, and no customer impact. In Europe, we are investigating to understand the nature of any impact. We can confirm some impact in Europe and are currently investigating the exact nature.
This is not the first time Honda has been targeted by cyber criminals. One of the company's plants at Sayama, Japan, had to temporarily stop production in 2017 after its network was hit by WannaCry ransomware.
RELATED RESOURCE
How enterprises are embracing cyber security challenges
Enterprises across Europe, the Middle East and Africa are undergoing a significant transformation
In 2019, the carmaker had to deal with another cyber security incident after a researcher discovered a misconfigured ElasticSearch database leaking 134 million corporate documents that exposed sensitive information about the Honda's internal systems and device data.
-
M&S suspends online sales as 'cyber incident' continuesNews Marks & Spencer (M&S) has informed customers that all online and app sales have been suspended as the high street retailer battles a ‘cyber incident’.
-
Manners cost nothing, unless you’re using ChatGPTOpinion Polite users are costing OpenAI millions of dollars each year – but Ps and Qs are a small dent in what ChatGPT could cost the planet
-
Ransomware attacks are rising — but quiet payouts could mean there's more than actually reportedNews Ransomware attacks continue to climb, but they may be even higher than official figures show as companies choose to quietly pay to make such incidents go away.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolen – and security experts say it won't be the lastNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
‘Phishing kits are a force multiplier': Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25 – and experts warn it’s lowering the barrier of entry for amateur hackersNews Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
-
Healthcare systems are rife with exploits — and ransomware gangs have noticedNews Nearly nine-in-ten healthcare organizations have medical devices that are vulnerable to exploits, and ransomware groups are taking notice.
-
Alleged LockBit developer extradited to the USNews A Russian-Israeli man has been extradited to the US amid accusations of being a key LockBit ransomware developer.
-
February was the worst month on record for ransomware attacks – and one threat group had a field day
News February 2025 was the worst month on record for the number of ransomware attacks, according to new research from Bitdefender.
-
CISA issues warning over Medusa ransomware after 300 victims from critical sectors impactedNews The Medusa ransomware as a Service operation compromised twice as many organizations at the start of 2025 compared to 2024
-
Warning issued over prolific 'Ghost' ransomware groupNews The Ghost ransomware group is known to act fast and exploit vulnerabilities in public-facing appliances
