"the most economically damaging cyber event to hit the UK"
The cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has cost the UK economy an estimated £1.9 billion, a cybersecurity body has revealed. The figure could make it the most expensive hack in British history.
A report by the Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC) said losses could rise if full production at JLR is delayed further.
The luxury carmaker, owned by India’s Tata Group, was forced to shut down systems across all its factories and offices after a major breach at the end of August.
JLR only managed a limited restart in early October. The company is not expected to return to full production until January.
The attack has also disrupted thousands of smaller suppliers.
As many as 5,000 UK organisations have been affected due to JLR’s extensive supply chain.
While the carmaker could rely on its financial strength, many suppliers were forced to lay off staff and pause operations.
The CMC’s report said: “This incident appears to be the most economically damaging cyber event to hit the UK, with the vast majority of the financial impact being due to the loss of manufacturing output at JLR and its suppliers.”
The CMC, an independent non-profit organisation, includes cybersecurity specialists such as Ciaran Martin, the former head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre.
Martin said the breach looked like the most costly UK attack “by some distance”, adding that organisations must learn how to respond if vital systems are disrupted.
The carmaker operates three factories in the UK, producing about 1,000 vehicles daily.
Analysts estimated JLR was losing around £50 million a week during the shutdown. In late September, the UK government offered a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to help the company stabilise and support its supply chain.
Before receiving that support, JLR had already taken measures to assist smaller partners by paying for parts upfront.
The CMC, funded by the insurance industry, classifies major UK cyber incidents by economic impact.
It ranked the JLR hack as a category 3 systemic event on a five-point scale.
The £1.9 billion estimate “reflects the substantial disruption to JLR’s manufacturing, to its multi-tier manufacturing supply chain, and to downstream organisations including dealerships”.
The JLR breach is one of several major cyber incidents to hit British firms this year.
In April, Marks & Spencer lost about £300 million after a cyber-attack forced it to suspend online services for two months.
Cybersecurity experts warn that the latest incident highlights the vulnerability of large industrial networks. With manufacturing increasingly reliant on digital systems, the economic fallout of such attacks is expected to grow.
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