The cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), owned by Tata Motors, has led to a significant loss of £1.9 billion for the British economy and caused major disruption across the automotive sector. According to a report by the independent Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC), the incident affected more than 5,000 organisations, including JLR’s supply chain and downstream partners.
Losses may increase further if JLR’s production does not return to pre-hack levels promptly. The report, compiled by industry specialists including the former head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, positions this hack as one of the most economically damaging cyber events for the United Kingdom, with widespread financial and operational repercussions across manufacturing and distribution networks.
The CMC report found that the primary source of economic loss was the halt in manufacturing output at JLR and its suppliers. The hack forced JLR to shut down production for nearly six weeks, resuming operations only earlier this month. The company’s three UK factories, which typically produce around 1,000 vehicles daily, experienced extensive disruption.
A spokesperson for JLR declined to comment on the findings. The organisation will publish its financial results in November. CMC experts indicated that the impact could worsen if production recovery is delayed, but the current figures already underscore the hack’s unprecedented effects on both the company and its extended network.
“At 1.9 billion pounds of financial loss, 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 report said.
The report categorised the event as Category 3 on its five-point systemic event scale, a ranking reserved for incidents with substantial consequences for multiple sectors and extensive supply chains. The CMC is funded by the insurance industry and evaluates the financial aftermath of major cybersecurity breaches in British businesses, highlighting the scale and seriousness of this attack.
JLR received a £1.5 billion loan guarantee from the UK government in late September to support its suppliers and mitigate cascading effects throughout the automotive industry. Analysts estimated that JLR lost approximately £50 million per week during the production shutdown. The hack’s repercussions extended beyond JLR, as thousands of partner organisations faced operational uncertainty and financial strain. This event follows several high-profile hacks in the UK, including a breach at retailer Marks & Spencer, which resulted in a loss of £300 million and a two-month shutdown of online services.
The CMC report stated, “This estimate reflects the substantial disruption to JLR’s manufacturing, to its multi-tier manufacturing supply chain, and to downstream organisations including dealerships.”
