On September 27, 2023, Volkswagen (VW) experienced a major IT disruption that shut down production at several of the Group's plants. The subsidiary Audi was also affected by the disruption.
Central infrastructure paralyzed
According to a report in the "Handelsblatt" newspaper, the IT disruption has affected the Volkswagen Group's central infrastructure. In response, the Group has convened a crisis team to determine the cause of the disruption and find a solution.
A spokesperson for the Group confirmed that network components at the Wolfsburg site are affected and that this disruption has been ongoing since 12:30. While the reason for the system malfunction is still being analyzed, an external attack is unlikely to be the cause so far.
Impaired works and far-reaching consequences
According to the company, production at the main plant in Wolfsburg as well as in Emden, Osnabrück and Zwickau is affected. Component plants in Kassel, Braunschweig and Salzgitter are also experiencing downtime. Business at the headquarters in Wolfsburg has also been affected, which shows how far-reaching the effects of the disruption are.
The subsidiary Audi was also affected by the IT disruption, which underlines the global reach of the disruption.
Unknown cause and global impact
An IT service provider responsible for the company's networks confirmed that this was a worldwide disruption. "The production lines have been down everywhere since this afternoon - all over the world. Audi and VW are affected," she told the German press agency dpa, emphasizing that it is a "huge problem". She predicts that the disruption will keep the IT department busy until at least Thursday. At present, both simple technical glitches and a potential hacker attack are possible causes.
Summary
The IT disruption at Volkswagen demonstrates the increasing dependence of companies on their digital infrastructure and underlines the importance of robust IT security. While the cause and duration of the disruption are still uncertain, it is clear that the incident has a significant impact on the Group and its global operations.
