Production Stopped: Jaguar Land Rover Hacked

On Sunday, August 31, a group of hackers claimed to have infiltrated Jaguar Land Rover’s systems, causing the company to shut everything down. Since then, production lines have sat idle, workers were sent home, and dealerships have only been able to do some sales transactions.

BYD’s sudden fall should act as a warning to the auto industry.

It’s unknown what if any damage the hackers did to JLR’s systems, but the automaker shut everything down and is strategically bringing parts of it up is succession, a process the BBC reports is quite complicated.

Of course, one of the fears is the hackers have disrupted the system’s ability to operate correctly, which could cause all kinds of problems for JLR. But another, more long term worry is the group has stolen sensitive data which could haunt the company and at least some of its customers.

This all comes at a time when JLR has been struggling. First, Jaguar launched its disastrous rebrand late last year. While some in the industry have tried denying the effects of the rather interesting direction the storied brand took, it’s obviously done untold damage after years of languishing sales.

Then, President Trump enacted tariffs which sent JLR into a tailspin of a hissy fit. As we covered before, the British automaker suspended all shipments to the US, like a child pouting and taking the ball after losing a game.

That move only further damaged the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the eyes of too many American consumers. Considering this is a key market for the company, that’s bad.

Problems under the surface at JLR have been compounding for years. But this hack could prove to be incredibly costly for the automaker, far beyond just the cost of idling production and holding off on sales transactions.

Image via Jaguar Land Rover