Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed a suspected cyber attack has significantly disrupted its vehicle production, causing operations to halt at its two primary UK factories. The automotive company, owned by India’s Tata Motors, swiftly implemented measures to mitigate the impact and is currently working to restore its systems.
Despite the disruption, Tata Motors’ share price has not seen a substantial impact. Retail operations have been notably affected during a crucial sales period; however, the company asserts there is no evidence of customer data being compromised.
The disruption began on Sunday, coinciding with the release of the latest batch of new registration plates on 1st September. According to the BBC, the attack was detected while underway, prompting JLR to shut down its IT systems to contain the damage.
Employees at the Halewood plant in Merseyside received emails instructing them not to report to work on Monday morning, with some later sent home, as reported by the Liverpool Echo. The Solihull plant has also experienced similar disruptions affecting its workforce.
In a statement, JLR emphasised: “We took immediate action to mitigate its impact by proactively shutting down our systems. We are now working at pace to restart our global applications in a controlled manner.” The company also noted: “At this stage, there is no evidence any customer data has been stolen, but our retail and production activities have been severely disrupted.”
This incident follows previous cyber attacks on major UK retailers, including Marks & Spencer and the Co-op, both involving extortion attempts.
The National Crime Agency has acknowledged the incident and is collaborating with partners to assess its impact. Cybersecurity experts highlight this event as indicative of the growing threat facing large organisations. Richard Ford, CTO at Integrity360, stated: “Cyber attacks are no longer just about stealing data. Increasingly, this is a two-pronged approach utilising ransomware to disrupt business operations, as we have seen in the recent attack on Jaguar Land Rover.”
Dai Vaughan, CTO at Public Digital, added: “Disruption from cyber-attacks is no longer a question of if, but when. Organisations need to move beyond a purely defensive mindset focused on prevention, towards a cyber approach that embraces preparedness and resilience as an ongoing commitment.”
The focus remains on resilience and rapid recovery to minimise operational and financial impacts, emphasising the importance of leadership and crisis management in effectively responding to such incidents.
