Jaguar Land Rover halts global production after cyber attack

Jaguar Land Rover has experienced significant operational disruption due to a cyber attack, forcing the company to shut down its systems to contain the incident. The British automaker is working quickly to resume production globally in a controlled and safe manner. Retail activities have also been affected, but the company reports no evidence that customer data has been compromised. Experts highlight that automotive manufacturing is highly interconnected, involving hundreds of suppliers, which increases vulnerability to cyber threats. Tim Grieveson, Chief Information Security Officer at ThingsRecon, noted that every hour of downtime can cost the sector approximately £1.6 million, and each day of halted production affects car sales and dealer revenues. This attack follows similar disruptions at major UK companies, such as Marks & Spencer, which faced significant operational setbacks earlier this year. Cybersecurity professionals also point to the rise of ‘ransomware-as-a-service’, a business model enabling less technically skilled individuals to launch attacks using powerful tools, sharing profits with the service providers. This trend is contributing to a global increase in cyber attacks targeting major companies across industries.