Honda resumes most production after cyberattack

LOS ANGELES — Honda has resumed production at most of its plants after suffering a crippling cyberattack on its global computer network over the weekend, but it is still working to restart some manufacturing operations in Ohio, the company said Tuesday.

The automaker has not offered details on the factories at which it was forced to suspend production after the network disruption began on Sunday. American Honda, the U.S. sales arm, said some factories were forced to shut down in North America because of a loss of computer connectivity.

The company acknowledged Tuesday that the IT disruption was an outside attack.

"Honda has experienced a cyberattack that has affected production operations at some U.S. plants," the company said in a statement. "However, there is no current evidence of loss of personally identifiable information. We have resumed production in most plants and are currently working toward the return to production of our auto and engine plants in Ohio."

It was unclear whether Honda was the victim of ransomware, in which hackers break into a corporation's IT system and hold the company hostage until a ransom is paid to allow operations to resume.

In 2017, Honda was hit by the global WannaCry ransomware attack that affected production at a Japanese assembly plant, according to Reuters. That attack also affected Renault and Nissan operations in Japan, Europe and India, the news agency said.

Following the coronavirus shutdown in March and April, Honda had resumed production at its auto assembly and parts plants in Indiana, Alabama and Ohio on May 11. The company has said it's working to return those facilities to full production and to replace the inventory lost while work at those plants was suspended.