Cyber-attack forces Suzuki to shut down motorcycle plant in India for a week, causes heavy production loss

India witnessed almost 14 lakh cyber attacks in 2022, and 50 government websites were also hacked along with private firms. Almost 80 per cent top-tier managers also admitted that at least one cyber attack had hit their company because of miscommunication with IT security.

The latest major firm to be hit by cyber criminals is the Indian unit of Japanese two-wheeler giant Suzuki, which was forced to shut down after the attack.

Major blow for Suzuki

• The production of bikes and scooters at Suzuki Motorcycle India's plant had been halted for a week since May 10, 2023.

• Apart from slashing output from the factory by 20,000 units, the cyber attack also forced Suzuki to push off its annual supplier conference.

• The manufacturing facility in India provides almost half of all Suzuki vehicles globally, and the country was also the brand's fastest growing market in FY23.

Indian firms being targeted regularly

• This attack on Suzuki comes after several major firms including SBI, Domino's and Air India were hit by cyber attacks in the past 3-4 years.

• Among all sectors, Healthcare was the worst hit by cyber-attacks followed by education and government.

• But India wasn't alone, as cyber-attacks reached an all time high after surging by 38 per cent in 2022.

• As ChatGPT has unlocked the possibility for hackers to generate codes quickly, cybersecurity has become even more challenging.