A Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack has forced the company to halt production at its two main UK plants after systems were “severely disrupted” by hackers. The incident has also hit JLR’s retail operations at a key time for new registrations, though the company said there is no evidence that customer data has been stolen.
The attack began on Sunday, coinciding with the launch of September’s new number plates. By Monday morning, staff at the Halewood plant in Merseyside were told not to report to work, while workers at Solihull in the West Midlands were also sent home as IT systems were taken offline. The BBC reported that the hack was detected in progress, prompting the company to shut down its infrastructure to minimise damage.
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Read the articleIn a statement, JLR said: “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.” It added that production and retail activity had been “severely disrupted” but stressed there was no evidence of data theft.
The National Crime Agency confirmed it was aware of the incident and is working with partners to assess the impact. A regulatory filing by JLR’s parent company, Tata Motors, described it as an “IT security incidence” with “global” implications.
Cyber-attacks on major UK retailers such as Marks & Spencer and the Co-op in recent years have also been linked to attempts at extortion. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has repeatedly warned that ransomware and other digital threats pose a growing risk to British businesses.
The disruption is another setback for the carmaker, which is already facing financial pressures. Earlier this summer, JLR reported a slump in profits partly driven by rising costs following new US tariffs on UK car exports.
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[Image Credit | The Independent]
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