Photo/Illutration Honda Motor Co.’s headquarters in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on June 9 (Kazutaka Kamizawa)

A possible cyberattack on its corporate network temporarily put the brakes on Honda Motor Co.’s production systems, forcing many employees who were working from home to take the day off.

Employees at the automobile company’s headquarters in Tokyo’s Minato Ward and back-office sections in domestic factories were asked to take a paid holiday on June 9.

The company has restricted the use of personal computers to prevent further damage, making it impossible for many employees who have been teleworking due to the coronavirus pandemic to perform any task, according to the company.

A system glitch was reported around 9 a.m. on June 8. Many employees had difficulty logging into the corporate network system and sending emails.

Alarmed by the possibility of a cyberattack, the company ordered all employees not to use a personal computer at around 11 a.m. that day.

The company investigated the cause and effects of the trouble. Honda received a report that some production lines at its assembly plants in the United States were shut down, a company representative said.

Production at domestic factories continued as usual, the representative said.

A system for final checks of completed automobiles before shipment at four domestic factories experienced connection problems, halting the shipping process for a while. 

By the evening of June 8, the problems were fixed. There was no damage to production lines, the company representative said.

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