Russia is suspected of being behind the cyber attack that forced Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to stop production, The Telegraph can reveal.
The scale of the attack and the economic damage inflicted have raised suspicions that the hackers were acting on behalf of the Kremlin.
The hack forced the closure of the carmaker’s manufacturing operations across the world for more than a month and threw 200,000 jobs into doubt.
It led to the Government promising to underwrite a £1.5bn loan guarantee amid concerns the knock-on consequences for smaller suppliers could be devastating.
The Telegraph now understands that the possibility of the Russian state being behind the attack is an active line of enquiry. No final assessment has been made.
Intelligence chiefs have long warned that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has been targeting the UK with cyber attacks to cause disruption.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, said last month that the Russian state had been involved in recent cyber attacks on the UK, but did not name specific cases.
Drones recently disrupting airspace in Germany and Denmark, two countries whose leaders have called out Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have also raised suspicions of Kremlin disruption in Europe.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said: “In a context where Putin has been provoking Nato allies with drone and fighter jet incursions, if this turns out to be a Russian cyber attack on our industry, that would be very significant indeed.
“We know Russia is deliberately testing our resolve. It underlines why all the effort in Government needs to be on the defence of the homeland. Labour needs to increase defence spending much faster than they are planning to.”
The hack on JLR was detected on the last day of August and left the carmaker unable to produce at any of its factories in the UK, Brazil, Slovakia, and India.
Suspicions that a foreign state was involved come in part from the scale of damage done and the knock-on impact to the business.
All 800 of the computer systems used by JLR were knocked out, according to government insiders familiar with the case.
Outside experts have noted that it appears not to have been a “ransomware” attack, which involves demands of payment and is often used by cyber-criminals looking to make money.
Teams of experts from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain’s listening spy post, were sent into the company to restore order and work out what happened.
The investigation is being headed up by the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, and assisted by the National Crime Agency.
A spokesman said: “The investigation is ongoing, and we would caution against speculation. The Government has persistently called out a range of actors for malicious cyber activities against the UK and will continue to do so.”
The hack wreaked havoc with JLR’s supply chain, which involves around 200,000 workers. Operations at the Range Rover production lines in Solihull finally restarted last week.
Peter Kyle, the Business Secretary, said last month he had concerns about the impact the hack could have on smaller suppliers who rely on JLR’s contracts for work.
The decision to underwrite the £1.5bn loan guarantee sees the Treasury take on extra financial risk at a time when the public finances are already under pressure.
There has been a spate of cyber attacks on major British businesses in recent months, including Marks and Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods.
Ms Reeves pointed the finger at Russia over the attacks last month, though did not name the incidents which were suspected of having Kremlin backing.
Ms Reeves said of cyber attacks: “We also need to deal with this at source. It’s coming from hostile states, states like Russia – and that’s why we are doing what we are doing.
“A number of these attacks originate in Russia by Russian-backed entities, and we are getting a grip of that.”
Sir Keir has continued his Tory predecessor’s position of being a firm supporter of Ukraine in its attempts to fight off the Russian full-scale invasion.
This year, the Prime Minister has been at the forefront of planning for a “coalition of the willing” peace-keeping force to defend Ukraine if a ceasefire is agreed.
Credit: Yahoo News