The problem was centrally located in Wolfsburg
VW malfunction originated in its own network
September 28, 2023, 5:16 p.m
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The IT infrastructure problems in the car manufacturer Volkswagen’s network can be resolved at night. A suspicious data packet has been identified and isolated. A spokesman explains: There are no indications that the disruption was caused by external influences.
According to a report, the serious IT disruption at Volkswagen apparently originated in the company’s own network. Atypical data content was duplicated within the IT structure and thus caused the network failure, a source familiar with the process told the “Handelsblatt” in Düsseldorf. The network disruption began on Wednesday afternoon and affected the entire group.
In order to zero in on the core of the problem, according to information from Handelsblatt, services that the group uses were gradually disconnected and reconnected to the network as a test. Ultimately, the problem was centrally located in Wolfsburg. A suspicious data package was then identified and isolated during the night.
In the morning, the manufacturer’s production was gradually ramped up again. A spokesman for the company also confirmed that the problem had been solved. However, there may still be restrictions at individual locations. VW itself did not provide any further information about the cause.
“There are still no indications that the disruption was caused by external influences,” the spokesman said simply. Until the information systems return to normal operation, there could still be disruptions in production. In Wolfsburg in particular, work is not yet working at full capacity due to the size and complexity of the location, said the spokesman.
Wissing calls on business to be more sensitive
Other brands in the group such as Porsche and Skoda were also affected by the disruption. VW production has stopped in all of its plants in Germany – Wolfsburg, Emden, Zwickau, Osnabrück and Dresden. At Audi, the impact on the various plants varied, said an Audi spokeswoman. Production then started again “step by step”.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing called on businesses to be more sensitive after the disruption. “We need security systems that work here,” the minister told the broadcasters RTL and ntv. Disruptions such as those now occurring at VW would have to be analyzed precisely. “It must be clear to everyone that digital infrastructures are critical infrastructures,” said Wissing. The digital policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Jens Zimmermann, called for “absolute priority” for the security of digital systems. The “massive IT disruption at Volkswagen” shows the dependence and vulnerability of a digitally networked economy and society.