Cyber attack: Jaguar Land Rover in daily talks with government

The government is in daily contact with Jaguar Land Rover and is monitoring the situation at the company very closely in the aftermath of a serious cyber attack, business and trade minister Sir Chris Bryant has told MPs.

JLR says it turned off its IT systems in response to the attack, which occurred just over a week ago, to protect them from damage.

However it has been unable to operate its production lines ever since as a result of that shutdown, either in the UK or abroad.

Workers at car assembly plants in Halewood and Solihull, as well as at JLR’s engine factory in Wolverhampton, have been told to remain at home. The factories are not currently expected to open until Thursday at the earliest.

The situation is understood to be fluid as the company attempts to get its networks back up and running, and decisions are being taken on a day-by-day basis.

New car sales and servicing have also been heavily disrupted.

The stoppage has come at what is normally a peak period for selling cars, following the release of new registration plates on 1 September.

Responding to an urgent question by Labour’s Derek Twigg – whose Widnes and Halewood constituency is home to one of JLR’s factories – Sir Chris said that the National Cyber Security Centre had been working with Jaguar Land Rover since last Wednesday.

He himself had spoken to the company and would be meeting with the chief executive later this week.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, he said, had also been notified.

The minister was unable to comment on the possible identity of the hackers, though he noted what was already in the public domain.

Nor could he comment on how long it would take to rectify the situation.

He stressed the importance of prosecuting those responsible for this and other hacking incidents.

Last week, a group of cyber criminals who were responsible for causing huge disruption at Marks and Spencer and the Co-op earlier this year claimed responsibility for the attack on JLR.

The incident has also had serious knock-on effects on JLR’s supply chain.

Sir Chris acknowledged that key parts suppliers, including Evtec, WH Plastics, Suretec and Opmobility, had been left in an “even more complex situation’ than JLR itself , and insisted the government would be trying to make sure they had “every possible support”.

MPs from areas around the plants will get an opportunity to ask the company questions during a zoom call on Friday.