Cyberattack? Bridgestone investigating scope of tire plants' IT breach

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Bridgestone Americas is not yet ready to call the Feb. 27, early morning "IT breach" of its network a cyberattack.

But "out of an abundance of caution," the company is disconnecting the computers at certain manufacturing and retreading facilities in North America and Latin America.

"Until we learn more from this investigation, we cannot determine with certainty the scope or nature of any potential incident, but we will continue to work diligently to address any potential issues that may affect our operations, our data, our teammates, and our customers," the company said in a Feb. 28 statement to Rubber News.

The North American tire maker has since resumed key operations at its facilities.

Bridgestone sent workers home early from several manufacturing shifts spanning Feb. 27-28, including those in Des Moines, Iowa; and in La Vergne, Tenn.

According to media reports, Bridgestone workers have been affected at a truck and bus radial factory in Warren County, Tenn.; a passenger and light truck radial tire plant in Aiken County, S.C.; and Canadian media reported Feb. 27 that there was disruption to the night shift at a Bridgestone plant in Joliette, Quebec.

United Steelworkers Local 1155L, which represents Bridgestone employees at the truck and bus tire plant in Warren County, posted on its Facebook page that workers' shifts on Monday were canceled at that location, as well.

The level of disruption and what the possible attack may have targeted remain unclear, as does the total number of affected locations.

"Bridgestone Americas is currently investigating an information security incident," the company said in its Feb. 28 correspondence. "Since learning of the incident in the early morning hours of Feb. 27, we have launched a comprehensive investigation to quickly gather facts while working to ensure the security of our IT systems."

The company declined further comment Feb. 28. This story will be updated as information becomes available.

Bridgestone Americas, based in Nashville, operates more than 50 production facilities and employs around 55,000 in Canada, Central America, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Parent company Bridgestone Corp. is the world's No. 2 tire maker, according to Rubber News data, which has tracked 2020 tire sales of around $20.75 billion for the Tokyo-based company.