Business Secretary, Peter Kyle MP, described JLR’s announcement as “very welcome news for workers and suppliers, but I know many are still under pressure, particularly further down the supply chain”.
Kyle continued, saying that “My focus will remain on helping JLR resolve this cyber incident, making further progress towards restarting production, and supporting the long-term health of our automotive supply chain.”
JLR cyber attack timeline
On 02 September, JLR confirmed that it was the victim of what it described as a “cyber incident” that occurred on 31 August. In order to mitigate the infiltration, the firm’s IT team immediately shut down its array of online systems, so the various production lines that rely on this type of technology came to a halt.
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From the day following the attack, JLR asked its more than 30,000 factory employees to remain at home. Since then, production across the firm’s sites in Halewood, Solihull, Wolverhampton and abroad has remained at a standstill while the company works with “third‑party cybersecurity specialists and alongside law enforcement” in order to get things back online safely.
The brand began an in-depth investigation into the incident, with a spokesperson saying on 10 September: “Since we became aware of the cyber incident, we have been working around the clock, alongside third-party cybersecurity specialists, to restart our global applications in a controlled and safe manner.