Jaguar Land Rover has become the latest company to fall victim to a cyber-attack, which is having an impact on production and retail activities.
The discovery was reportedly detected while taking place with JLR shutting down its IT systems to minimise damage.
In a statement Jaguar Land Rover said: “JLR has been impacted by a cyber incident. We took immediate action to mitigate its impact by proactively shutting down our systems. We are now working at pace to restart our global applications in a controlled manner.
“At this stage there is no evidence any customer data has been stolen but our retail and production activities have been severely disrupted.”
Incidences of cyber attacks are well chronicled in the motor sector. Last year CDK Global was hit by cyber attacks forcing it to shut down its applications for US dealers. Dealer group Arnold Clark was also been subject to a cyber-attack in December 2022.
Lauren Wills-Dixon, head of privacy at law firm Gordons and an expert in cyber security, said: “Often with cyber attacks, the risk to businesses is that hackers will access personal data, either of employees or customers. In this case, it seems the target was to cause maximum disruption to the production line. It’s not a new threat for manufacturing companies, but it’s an alternative way in which malicious groups are targeting businesses – and one that they must be aware of.
“From the initial reports it seems that Jaguar Land Rover detected this attack while in progress, which suggests a robust cyber security programme is in place. However, this is another reminder of the need for stringent security measures required in a world where cyber attacks are increasingly common, both for small and large businesses.”
Andy Thompson, Offensive Cybersecurity Research Evangelist at CyberArk offers dealer CEOs practical advice to dealers to ensure they remain safe.
“To ensure dealer groups remain safe and resilient against cybercrime, it is crucial to adopt a comprehensive approach to identity security.
“This applies universally across industries but is particularly pertinent for dealer groups due to their complex ecosystems of human, machine, and AI interactions.
Click here to see what he had to say.