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Renault/Nissan hit by ransomware attack

14 May, 2017

 

 

“The ransomware was said to have exploited a Windows security weakness, encrypting data on computers and holding it at ransom”

For those of you that haven’t read the news, Friday’s ransomware attack affected tens-of-thousands of computers in almost 100 countries across the world, and reports state that French auto giant Renault became the first major French company to be hit —  an English plant of Renault’s alliance partner Nissan was also hit by the attack. 

Production was stopped of Renault’s European plants as a result of the attack, affecting operation as data on computers was encrypted and held at ransom, according to a Renault spokesman.

A Nissan spokesman has confirmed that their Sunderland, England, plant was affected by the ransomware but wouldn’t confirm whether production was halted as a result. The plant manufactures the Nissan Leaf, Qashqai, Note and Juke as well as the Infiniti Q30 and QX30. 

The ransomware was said to have exploited a Windows security weakness that Microsoft had already released a patch for, however was still able to wreak considerable amounts of havoc on devices which had yet to be updated — a poignant reminder to update your computer, especially if they control production at your vehicle manufacturing plant …Renault has said that proactive measures have now been put in place.

Following this, a Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation into the attack, which covers “Renault and other possible victims,” according to reports.

Janspeed recreates the Jaguar sports car

29 September, 2026

Thankfully, a few of these cars made it to New Zealand, the odd one being imported from the UK over the years. However, the 1988 British Racing Green example owned by Bill Slater in Upper Hutt was originally sold as a standard car but converted using the full Janspeed kit by the first owner within a couple of years of buying it.
Bill has owned a few other Jaguars. In fact, after he sold his Jaguar XJ12 in 2018, he found himself pining for another and, when the XJ-S came up for sale, he could not resist it. Having just sold the V12, he was not expecting much from the six-cylinder car other than more reliability and it being cheaper to keep on the road. Naturally, he had heard of the influence Janspeed had on the marque, but it was not until he took the car for a test drive that he became aware of just how superior it was to the car he had just sold. The price of a second-hand Janspeed XJ-S and that of a standard 3.6 XJ-S is quite comparable, making the Janspeed version an incredible bargain, even more so in comparison with other performance classic cars — or even modern cars, for that matter — which cost far more bucks for the bang.

The writing on the wall

25 September, 2026

Deven, a digital content producer in his 20s, says it was the rear-drive Nissan and Toyota drift cars that fired his imagination in his not-so-distant youth and soon had him wanting one of his own. However, like most of us, he had to start in something less glamorous – in his case, a 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. After that, he bought a four-litre V8 1991 Toyota Soarer, a big change from the Mitsubishi.
“It was my daily driver, and it wasn’t that bad to run back when petrol was affordable,” he says.
When he got fed up with filling it up, Deven bought a 1989 Ford Laser sedan, a 1.3-litre five-speed manual, to be his daily driver. It’s in very good condition, bought from a careful older driver, and he still runs it – although he will occasionally also drive the latest in a series of Nissan Laurel sedans. His current one, from 1993, has done the lowest number of kilometres yet, at 183,000. It has the single-cam version of the engine in his Skyline.
“I’ve had four different versions of that car. It was just a car I always liked. It’s really comfortable, quite luxurious. I bought it from a 90-year-old in Hamilton. It’s in mint condition, and everything is standard.”