Fears are mounting that Vladimir Putin-backed hackers are behind the crippling cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) which shut down its production line and put 200,000 jobs at risk.
The car maker has just restarted production after receiving a £1.5billion government loan guarantee, having had its manufacturing plants and delivery systems shut since September 1. Operations ground to a halt in the UK, Brazil, India and Slovakia and the government intervened following concerns about the devastating impact on smaller suppliers.
The sophistication and extent of the hack, which could cost the company billions of pounds, has led investigators to probe whether the Kremlin was involved. While no final assessment has been made, the involvement of the Russian state remains an active line of enquiry, with the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, assisted by the National Crime Agency. Intelligence chiefs have warned that Putin is targeting the UK with cyber attacks.
Richard Moore, the former head of MI6, last year warned Russia was waging a ‘staggeringly reckless campaign’ of sabotage in Europe, with Britain seen as a top target. And Labour minister Pat McFadden also said that Russia is ready to carry out attacks on the UK and allies to weaken support for Ukraine. He warned of Putin’s capacity to ‘turn the lights off for millions of people’, as well as its willingness to target British businesses ‘in pursuit of its malign goals’.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month admitted Russia is behind some recent cyber attacks, adding the government and businesses needed to ‘step up’ their efforts to combat danger. ‘We also need to deal with this at source. It’s coming from hostile states, states like Russia – and that’s why we are doing what we are doing. A number of these attacks originate in Russia by Russian-backed entities, and we are getting a grip of that.’
Companies including Marks and Spencer, Harrods and Co-Op have all been disrupted by cyber attacks. All 800 of the computer systems used by JLR were knocked out. But it appears not to have been a ransomware attack – where hackers make demands for payment.
A GCHG spokesperson said an investigation into Russian involvement over the JLR attack is ‘ongoing’ but they would ‘caution against speculation’. On Tuesday, JLR announced that its assembly line workers were returning to its engine plant in Wolverhampton and its battery assembly centre in Coleshill, Birmingham after 37 days.
It also restarted its stamping operations in Castle Bromwich, Halewood in Merseyside, and Solihull, along with key areas of its Solihull vehicle production plant, such as its body shop, paint shop and its logistics operations centre, which feed parts to the group’s global manufacturing sites.
On Wednesday, JLR global manufacturing director Luis Vara said: ‘There is a strong sense of unity and momentum as we get back to doing what we do best, building quality luxury vehicles for our customers.’ JLR has been contacted for comment.
