JLR Hack Costs UK Economy £1.9 Billion, Affects Over 5,000 Firms: Report

The August cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), owned by Tata Motors Ltd., has cost the UK economy around £1.9 billion ($2.55 billion) and disrupted more than 5,000 organisations, according to a report released Wednesday by the Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC).

The CMC, an independent non-profit body comprising industry experts including the former head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, said losses could rise if production delays persist. It called the JLR hack “the most economically damaging cyber event” to hit the country, with the bulk of the impact stemming from halted manufacturing at JLR and its suppliers.

Production at the luxury carmaker resumed earlier this month after an almost six-week shutdown that affected its three UK plants, which together produce about 1,000 cars daily. Analysts estimated that JLR lost about £50 million each week during the disruption.

In late September, the British government extended a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to help JLR support its suppliers. The CMC classified the hack as a Category 3 systemic event on a five-point severity scale, reflecting its widespread impact on the automaker’s operations, supply chain and dealerships.

The incident follows other major cyber breaches in the UK this year, including one at retailer Marks & Spencer in April that cost about £300 million after its online services were disrupted for two months.