The true extent of cyber attacks on UK business - and the weak spots that allow them to happen

"The first day of September should have marked the beginning of one of the busiest periods of the year for Jaguar Land Rover. It was a Monday, and the release of new 75 series number plates was expected to produce a surge in demand from eager car buyers. At factories in Solihull and Halewood, as well as at its engine plant in Wolverhampton, staff were expecting to be working flat out. Instead, when the early shift arrived, they were sent home."

"The production lines have remained idle ever since. Though they are expected to resume operations in the coming days, it will be in a slow and carefully controlled manner. It could be another month before output returns to normal. Such was the impact of a major cyber attack that hit JLR at the end of August. It is working with various cyber security specialists and police to investigate, but the financial damage has already been done. Over a month's worth of worldwide production was lost."

A major cyber attack at the end of August forced Jaguar Land Rover to halt production at its Solihull, Halewood and Wolverhampton plants, leaving production lines idle and early shifts sent home. Operations are expected to resume slowly and be carefully controlled, with output potentially taking a month to return to normal. Analysts estimate losses around £50m per week and over a month's worldwide production was lost. JLR made £2.5bn profit last year and is owned by Tata Group, so losses are painful but not fatal. The incident is part of a wider wave of cyber attacks this year targeting UK businesses and services, with a government survey finding hundreds of thousands of targets.

Read at www.bbc.com