Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has directed factory employees to remain at home until at least Tuesday, following a cyber attack that occurred over the weekend. This incident has led to the shutdown of vital IT systems, significantly impacting both car production and sales.
Production is currently suspended at JLR facilities in Halewood, Merseyside, and Solihull, West Midlands, as well as its engine manufacturing center in Wolverhampton. The situation is being continuously assessed, and the halts in output may extend beyond the initial timeline. Although car sales have also been disrupted, reports indicate that some transactions have been completed.
The cyber attack prompted the company, owned by Tata Motors, to take its systems offline on Sunday to mitigate potential damage. JLR is now working to restore those systems in a controlled manner, a process described as complex. In addition, the company is implementing work-arounds for systems that remain unavailable.
The disruption has affected not only JLR but also its parts suppliers, who have had to limit their operations. Some suppliers have expressed concerns regarding a lack of communication from the company regarding the ongoing situation.
A hacker group known as “Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters” has claimed responsibility for breaching JLR’s systems. They have not confirmed whether they successfully accessed private customer data or deployed any malicious software. Some screenshots they shared appear to show internal troubleshooting instructions, raising questions about the extent of their access. JLR is investigating the incident but has stated that there is currently no evidence of customer data theft.
In 2023, JLR entered a five-year, £800 million agreement with Tata Consultancy Services aimed at enhancing its cybersecurity and overall IT capabilities. The recent production halt adds to challenges the company is facing, including a decline in profits tied to rising costs associated with U.S. tariffs.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jzl1lw4y1o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss