The devastating cyberattack that halted Jaguar Land Rover’s production for months last year was carried out by Russian hackers, according to a New York Times report citing people familiar with the investigation.
The 2023 attack was one of the most costly in automotive history. The UK government stepped in with a £1.5 billion (roughly $2 billion) bailout after production stopped for weeks. Estimates put the total economic hit to the British economy at $2.5 billion.
Microsoft tracked the Russian hacking group and alerted JLR to the hackers’ identities, the Times reported. The FBI, Britain’s National Crime Agency, National Cyber Security Centre, Google’s Mandiant unit, and Palo Alto Networks all contributed to the investigation.
In a twist, the Russian group wasn’t the only one that breached JLR’s networks. A Jordanian hacker who went by “Rey” also broke in, according to the Times. It’s still unclear whether the Russian hackers were working directly for the government, operating as independent criminals, or something in between.
JLR is one of the UK’s largest employers, and the attack sent shockwaves through the automotive industry. The incident underscores the growing targeting of manufacturing and critical infrastructure by nation-state-linked threat actors.
