Jaguar Land Rover continues in crisis for a cyber attack. The magnitude is such that the British government has had to intervene

August 31Jaguar Land Rover was forced to make a drastic decision: off the majority of its systems to stop a cyber attack. The gesture had immediate consequences. Its factories in the United Kingdom were paralyzed and the interruption also extended to other production centers abroad. Thousands of employees were forced to stay at home in the middle of a global break that lasted almost a month. Now, The company is planning A staggered return of his activity, although not without challenges.

September 2, The company spread Your first official statement. He talked about a “cybercormer,” defended the decision to disconnect systems and wanted to reassure customers indicating that there was no data filtration tests. At that time it was thought that the interruption would be brief, just a few days. However, the reality was another: the break continued until September 24 And then one more week was extendedwith October 1 marked as the minimum date to initiate a gradual and phase recovery.

The attack that has put Jaguar Land Rover in check

Preventive disconnection not only stopped production, much of the internal systems of Jaguar Land Rover also knocked down. Design and management tools They were out of service and engineering processes were interrupted For weeks. The commercial network also suffered: retail and logistics were blocked, forced to operate with manual methods. In spite of everything, the company managed to keep its dealers open and established alternative procedures to process payments, deliver already finished vehicles and ensure the supply of replacement pieces.

The blow was global. In addition to British plants, production was interrupted in other international centers, such as Slovakia, Brazil and India. The epicenter was in West Midlands, where Jaguar Land Rover concentrates its headquarters and key factories, surrounded by hundreds of suppliers. The break unleashed a domino effect that left many of those companies without orders. The company itself acknowledged that the impact extended to the entire supply chain, both in the United Kingdom and in other countries.

Forensic research has not yet concluded, But the indications suggest a ransomware attack. Shortly after the crisis exploded, a self -denominated group “Scattered Laps $ Hunters” appeared on Telegram that published images of internal systems of Jaguar Land Rover. The denomination points to a collaboration between groups such as Scatrtered Spider, Lapse $ and Shinyhunters, all with history in attacks against large companies. Internal data filtration reinforces the extortion hypothesis, although the company has avoided confirming the authorship and has not revealed whether it received a specific rescue request.

Attack management involves multiple actors beyond Jaguar Land Rover. ANDThe National Cybersecurity Center leaders Together with private specialists, the analysis of what happened, while the government receives regular information about the progress of recovery. Company managers They have attended meetings with ministers And they have explained that the lap should be done step by step. From there arises the restart strategy in phases: first critical systems proven in controlled environments, then a progressive resumption of production. It is a process still underway, with the priority set to run more risks.

The cost of the break is measured in tens of millions. Every week without production was for Jaguar Land Rover losses close to 50 million pounds (about 59 million euros), a blow that forced the Moody’s A agency lower your perspective positive to negative financial. The interruption not only affected the company: Hundreds of suppliers They saw their orders frozen and some smaller companies began to cut template. To contain the crisis, the British government offered a loan guarantee for 1.5 billion pounds (about 1,790 million euros), to which Jlr added one Own financing line with commercial banking of 2,000 million pounds (about 2,360 million euros).

The crisis has not only evidenced the fragility of Jaguar Land Rover, it has also lit the alarms throughout the automotive. A manufacturer of this size, with global resources and experience, has needed almost a month to try to start back after a computer attack. This vulnerability forces to review cybersecurity strategies in the industry, from network segmentation to continuity plans. The case will serve as a reference for other manufacturers: the question is no longer whether there will be new attacks, but how to minimize its effects when they arrive.

Images | Robin Mee him | Jaguar Land Rover

In Xataka | 200 people paid to see a drone show in Valencia. The problem is that the event did not exist