Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack to take 'weeks not days' to fix as West Midlands suppliers hit

"Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is bracing for weeks of disruption after a devastating cyberattack forced it to shut down factories, suspend deliveries and send thousands of staff home. The attack, claimed by a group called Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters linked to the collective behind recent hacks on M&S, Harrods and the Co-op, has rendered JLR's global IT systems unusable. Without diagnostic tools, dealerships cannot properly service vehicles, register new sales or access online parts catalogues."

"JLR's main assembly plants in Solihull and Halewood and its engine plant in Wolverhampton have all been idled, with workers told not to report for shifts this week - and possibly far longer. Senior insiders have conceded the outage will take "a matter of weeks rather than days" to resolve, with a "long tail of work" needed even once systems are restored."

"The shockwaves are being felt well beyond JLR's 30,000-strong workforce. Suppliers including Evtec, WHS Plastics, SurTec and OPmobility, which together employ more than 6,000 people, have already laid off staff temporarily. "Jaguar Land Rover is an anchor institution," said Raj Kandola, chief executive of the Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. "It's not just about the people it employs directly, it's the supply chains." David Roberts, chairman of Evtec, warned "many, many thousands of people" across the Midlands are waiting to get back to work."

Jaguar Land Rover suffered a cyberattack that forced shutdowns of assembly and engine plants, suspended deliveries and sent thousands of staff home. The attack was claimed by Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters and rendered global IT systems unusable, preventing dealerships from servicing vehicles, registering sales or accessing parts catalogues. Solihull, Halewood and Wolverhampton plants were idled and workers told not to report, with insiders estimating recovery will take weeks and involve a long tail of work. Suppliers employing over 6,000 people have temporarily laid off staff. Analysts estimate losses of around £5m per day and warn of reputational damage.

Read at Business Matters