Fallout from ‘frustratingly simple’ Jaguar Land Rover attack to last for weeks
A cyber attack at Jaguar Land Rover, which forced the company to halt production and retail operations on September 2, is set to continue for weeks in a huge headache for the firm.
The incident prompted the UK’s biggest carmaker to take its systems offline as a precaution, while emails sent to staff at its plant confirmed that shifts had been cancelled.
Employees of the British company have now been told to remain off work until Wednesday, with a decision on whether to bring staff back being taken day by day.
There is speculation that operations at JLR will be disrupted for “most of September” or worse, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
“The frustratingly simplistic approach to knock out a company of this size and for so long will make this incredibly difficult for senior staff to swallow,” Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor, ESET, said.
“But to really add insult to injury is that we saw a run of retailers catastrophically hit this year causing one of the biggest impacts to a whole industry,” Moore added.
M&S has only just recovered from the cyber attack it suffered in April, while a swathe of other retailers – from the Co-op to Harrods – were also targeted.
“The Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) attack reveals cybercrime’s evolution from opportunistic hacking into strategic business warfare… this was no random strike; it was timed with the UK’s critical ’75 plate’ launch to cause maximum damage,” Cody Barrow, CEO of EclecticIQ, said.
The UK released new vehicle registration plates featuring the ’75’ age identifier on September 1 for cars registered between September 2025 and February 2026.
A spokesperson for JLR said: “We continue to work around the clock to restart our global applications in a controlled and safe manner following the recent cyber incident. We are working with third-party cybersecurity specialists and alongside law enforcement.
“We want to thank all our customers, partners, suppliers and colleagues for their patience and support. We are very sorry for the disruption this incident has caused. Our retail partners remain open and we will continue to provide further updates.”
Two fifths of consumers now more cautious about online shopping
Less than two thirds of Brits trust online retailers to protect them, while over three quarters of consumers are concerned about their personal and financial details being compromised as a result of online retail transactions, according to data from ESET.
Younger consumers are nearly twice as likely as over-55s to be influenced by the fear of fraud to stop shopping with a brand post-breach.
“Today’s shopper is increasingly security-savvy, and retailers who ignore that do so at their peril,” Matt Knell, UK Country Manager at ESET, said.
Data from Abnormal AI suggests a clear seasonal pattern in retail-focused cyberattacks, with the second quarter consistently seeing a spike as criminals exploit busy trading periods.
The National Crime Agency has recently stepped up investigations into ransomware groups thought to be targeting UK companies.
In June, it arrested four individuals accused of attacks on major retailers including Harrods and M&S.