The company’s Australian email server is out of service until further notice
A cyberattack against Toyota car manufacturer,
on its Australia base, left its employees without access to their email
accounts for days, reported network security specialists from the International
Institute of Cyber Security.
The servers of Toyota Australia were the victim
of a cyberattack in recent days, which led to an investigation involving the
intervention of the Australian federal authorities. The causes of the attack
are still unknown, but it is also ignored if this has generated more
consequences.
The company confirmed the incident at the time,
stating that it is already in collaboration with some international network
security firms, so their systems will be restored as soon as possible.
Through a statement, Toyota Australia clarified
some concerns about the incident: “So far, we do not have evidence to prove
that the data of any employee or client has been compromised. We do not have
additional technical details about the incident and its authorship”.
Affected employees have been unable to access
their business email addresses, and staff have received instructions from
Toyota’s network security team to establish communications through other media,
such as phone and text messaging until the company’s email service is restored.
This incident adds to a growing list of cyber
crimes in Australian territory. In recent days, it was announced that the
Australian Parliament, in addition to some political parties, were victims of
hacking. The first investigations suggest the performance of groups of hackers
sponsored by foreign governments, according to a statement of the Australian
authorities.
With regard to the latest incident, Toyota
Australia claims that this is the first time it has had an attack of this
nature. Employees in the company’s agencies claim that they are still able to
access the sales system, although they still cannot access the company’s email
server.
On the other hand, the customer service section
of the company has placed a message mentioning that the page is “Under Maintenance”.
“We regret the inconvenience that this may cause to our customers and we
appreciate your patience”, adds the message on the Toyota Australia website.
Cybersecurity specialists agree that there are
multiple probable causes of the attack. Investigator Matt Warren comments: “The
perpetrators of the attack could have financial motivations, trying to steal
financial details from Toyota’s customers, or it could be a corporate espionage
campaign. It could even be retaliation for the closure of the Toyota plant in
Altona, which turned the total Toyota Australia staff from over 4000
Australians to only 1700”.
