After a global IT disruption: VW continues to search for the cause | NDR.de – News – Lower Saxony

“The network is working stably again,” said VW spokesman Christian Schiebold on Thursday. “Production should take place as planned. Individual systems may still be affected in a transition phase.” Perhaps the usual rhythm will not be achieved at first. There is still no evidence that the extensive IT disruption was caused by external influences. According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, a “very unusual data package” was apparently the reason for the failure. The server sent it back and forth again and again until the system finally collapsed because it was completely overloaded. It is unclear where the data packet came from. The “Handelsblatt” also reported on “atypical data content” that had multiplied within VW’s IT structure. It is said that a suspicious data package was discovered and isolated on Thursday night.

IT experts also assume there is an internal disruption

VW had already announced on Wednesday that there were no signs of a hacker attack. IT expert and editor Jan Mahn from “c’t Magazine” also assumes this “based on what you can see from the outside”. It is typical for a cyber attack to last days or weeks. In this case the problem was solved within a day. “I would assume it was just a technical glitch,” Mahn told NDR Lower Saxony. There are several plausible explanations for such failures. The fact that such an error occurs could be a combination of very unfavorable circumstances.

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There is no such thing as 100% protection. Jan Mahn, IT expert from the computer magazine C`t, in an interview. 2 mins

Malfunction at VW brings car production to a standstill on Wednesday

The problem occurred around midday on Wednesday. According to the company, car production then came to a standstill in the four German plants in Wolfsburg, Osnabrück, Emden and Zwickau. The component plants in Kassel, Braunschweig and Salzgitter were also affected. VW car dealerships and authorized workshops were also affected by the network disruption, the “Handelsblatt” reported. Accordingly, there were also problems at the plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. There were also restrictions for other brands in the group such as Porsche and Skoda.

Car expert: Damage is probably limited

VW has not yet provided any specific information about the costs of the IT breakdown or the extent of the failures. According to a car expert, the damage should be limited. After all, production didn’t even stand still for a day. “The failure can be made up for quickly,” said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the Center Automotive Research (CAR) in Duisburg. Longer delivery times for customers are therefore not to be expected.

Total failure at Toyota in August

At the end of August, technical problems at VW’s competitor Toyota led to a complete production stoppage in Japan for about a day. Apparently an error in the parts order management system was to blame.

Further information

2 mins

Production is at a standstill in Wolfsburg and Osnabrück. Hilke Janssen reports on the current status of the situation. (09/28/2023) 2 min

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