Toyota Motor Corp.’s Japanese factories suspended output on Tuesday after a key parts supplier shut down its computer systems due to a cyberattack, the latest blow to the carmaker’s efforts to make up for lost production earlier this year.

The world’s top auto producer is halting operations at all 14 plants in its home country, impacting about 5% of output for the month. The stoppage is linked to Kojima Press Industry Co., which confirmed Tuesday its server was subject to a suspected ransomware attack over the weekend. Toyota shares rose less than 1% in Tuesday morning trading.

The manufacturer of metal, plastic, and electronic components shut down its server Sunday after discovering it was infected with a virus and receiving threatening messages, the supplier said in a statement. The closely held parts maker is in contact with relevant police and government authorities and is trying to restore its system from March 2, a spokesperson for the company said late Monday.

Today’s cyber criminals don’t discriminate when it comes to who they target online. Everyone from politicians and celebrities to everyday citizens run the risk of having their personal information stolen.

That’s why Google has made security the cornerstone of our product strategy. We don’t just plug security holes; we work to eliminate entire classes of threats for people who depend on our services. Today alone, billions of people around the world will use our products to help with things big and small – whether it’s paying for coffee with Google Pay or teaching an online class full of students – and it’s our responsibility to keep your personal information safe and secure. We know that your Gmail is often the link to accessing your non-Google accounts, for banking, social media, shopping and more. That’s why the security of Gmail is fundamental to our work to keep you safe online.

By making all of our products secure by default, we keep more users safe than anyone else in the world — blocking malware, phishing attempts, spam messages, and cyber attacks.

Forbes reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration order involves seven users in China and Macau, authorised by a law that allows such tracing without a full explanation.

Case may be connected to an investigation into efforts by Chinese individuals and entities to ship opioids to the US, Forbes says.

The US has been secretly tracking a group of Chinese users of the popular messaging service WhatsApp since November, possibly in an effort to halt illegal opioid sales, Forbes has reported.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ordered WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, to track seven users based in China and Macau, a move authorised by the Pen Register Act, which allows such tracing without an explanation of the reasons for the monitoring, according to the report, which was posted online on Monday.
Citing a recently unsealed surveillance application filed in an Ohio court, Forbes said that DEA agents – without knowing the identities of any of those targeted – ordered WhatsApp to track the IP addresses and numbers with which the targets were communicating, as well as when and how they were using the app.

After attending a meeting at the White House, Google also proposed creating an organization to serve as a marketplace for open source maintenance.

Google and IBM are urging tech organizations to join forces to identify critical open source projects after attending a White House meeting on open source security concerns.

The meeting, led by White House cybersecurity leader Anne Neuberger, included officials from organizations like Apache, Google, Apple, Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, Meta, Linux, and Oracle as well as government agencies like the Department of Defense and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The meeting took place as organizations continue to address the Log4j vulnerability that has caused concern since it was discovered in December.