Monday, 15 May 2017

Production halted by cyber attack

Friday 12 May saw carmakers Renault and Nissan affected by a cyber attack that hit their computer systems.

The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation following the cyber attack, a judicial source told Reuters on Saturday. The probe covers 'Renault and other possible victims,' the source said.

The manufacturer is the first major French company to report being affected by the ransomware cyber attack that has infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100 countries.

Nissan's manufacturing plant in Sunderland, was also hit by the attack which also , has been affected by a cyber attack that has affected nearly 100 countries.

'Like many organisations around the world, some Nissan entities were recently targeted by a ransomware attack. Our teams are responding accordingly and there has been no major impact on our business,' said a spokesman for the carmaker.

PSA Group, Renault's French rival, was not affected, a spokesman said on Saturday.

The attack on Friday saw victims tricked into opening malicious malware attachments. Britain's NHS, Renault, Nissan and FedEx were all affected.

Renault said on Saturday that it had stopped production at several sites to prevent the spread of a global cyber attack but that it expected to be able to resume normal production today.