Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a Tata Motors company, fell victim to a cyber attack that “severely disrupted” their vehicle production. Among those affected were two of Jaguar’s UK manufacturing plants.
JLR took immediate action to mitigate the cyber attack’s impact “by proactively shutting down our systems,” the company’s statement announced on Tuesday, September 2.
So far, the attackers of the cyber incident have not yet been identified. However, the National Crime Agency is currently investigating the attack.
Malicious actors targeted JLR on Sunday, September 1. This happened just as the new September registration plates became available on Monday.
The BBC reported that the cyber attack might have been spotted while it was already in progress.
“We are now working at pace to restart our global applications in a controlled manner,” the official statement also noted. “At this stage, there is no evidence that any customer data has been stolen, but our retail and production activities have been severely disrupted.”
According to the BBC, workers from JLR’s Halewood and Solihull manufacturing units were told not to come to work or were turned away.
JLR’s parent company, Tata Motors, officially referred to the incident in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
‘Significant Operational Fallout’
The attack follows other damaging cyber-attacks on major UK retail companies, like Marks & Spencer and the Co-op, where hackers tried to extort money.
Lorri Janssen-Anessi, Director of External Cyber Assessments at BlueVoyant, says that the reported disruption at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is a clear example, highlighting a growing reality for the automotive sector – “cyber incidents can halt production lines as effectively as a supply chain shortage.”
Janssen-Anessi voices her concerns, particularly regarding the simultaneous impact on manufacturing and retail operations. This shows “how deeply connected IT and operational technology systems have become.”
JLR hasn’t officially reported a data breach, but “the operational fallout” has been significant, especially during a critical sales period. “This serves as a reminder that resilience planning must extend beyond just data protection and must include continuity of business operations and supply chain ecosystems,” the External Cyber Assessments Director stated.
While the particulars of the attack are unknown to the public, many continue to suspect financial extortion as the driving cause. This is because the attack happened during a period of vital sales, when it has been traditionally popular for consumers to take physical ownership of their vehicles from the manufacturing unit to their homes.
Protecting Supply Chains of Modern Manufacturing.
Katie Barnett, Director of Cyber Security at Toro Solutions, reflecting on the JLR cyber incident, emphasised the importance of strong cybersecurity in protecting the supply chains of modern manufacturing.
“Early detection of supply chain vulnerabilities is vital to minimising the impact of such breaches,” she said.
“These events are highly disruptive and stressful for everyone involved in restoring systems and resuming operations. They serve as a further reminder to reassess your IT resilience,” Barnett added.
The cybersecurity expert voices key questions for enterprises: Do they have the right security controls in place? Can you detect system infiltration early enough to contain the damage? Are your incident response plans ready to activate and restore business continuity at speed?
With its complex global networks, the automotive industry remains a high-value target for cyberattacks. Continued investment in third-party risk and resilience audits, real-time monitoring, and rapid response strategies is essential to contain threats and recover swiftly, ensuring operational integrity and customer trust.
The heavy delivery phase opened opportunities for attackers to take advantage and cause disruption with financial pressure on the firm.
US Tariffs Driving JLR Profit Slum
The attack also comes as a new to JLR, which has already been facing challenges this year, including a slump in profits owing to increasing costs from US tariffs.
Bloomberg reported earlier on August 8, 2025, that JLR, which typically contributes about two-thirds of the overall revenue, paused shipments to the US for nearly a month in April in response to President Donald Trump's import tariffs.
According to reports, Tata Motors' profits dropped by a staggering 63 per cent owing to the JLR sales slump.
However, the Bloomberg report also noted, “the US-UK trade deal will significantly reduce the financial impact of US tariffs going forward.”
Comments ( 0 )