Teen Hackers’ JLR Cyberattack Could Lead To Supplier Bankruptcies

Jaguar Land Rover remains crippled from a major cyberattack that struck on August 31, allegedly carried out by a group of online teenagers. More than two weeks later, the automaker remains unable to restart production and now predicts that lines will not begin moving again until September 24 at the earliest. This isn’t just costing JLR a massive amount of money, but small and medium suppliers are also feeling the effects, with concerns that some could even go bankrupt.

Production Lines Brought To A Standstill

Under normal circumstances, the British automaker builds more than 1,000 vehicles every single day. Since the cyberattack, however, not one vehicle has been completed. The company confirmed that it closed down its IT networks to shield them from further damage. Because its assembly lines and supply systems are heavily automated, this defensive move has also made it impossible to continue producing cars.

Read: JLR Got Hacked So Bad They’re Still Registering Cars With Pen And Paper

According to some experts, JLR is likely losing between £5 million ($6.8 million) and £10 million ($13.6 million) per day. And, it’s not just the carmaker that’s dealing with the fallout, as many suppliers are highly dependent on Jaguar Land Rover. Former Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer believes bankruptcies among them are likely.

“Some of them will go bust. I would not be at all surprised to see bankruptcies,” Palmer told the BBC. “You hold back in the first week or so of a shutdown. You bear those losses. But then, you go into the second week, more information becomes available – then you cut hard. So layoffs are either already happening, or are being planned.” One unnamed supplier has also said it has laid off 40 people, or almost half of its total workforce.

Concerns Reach Parliament

The seriousness of the crisis has drawn attention from lawmakers, with growing calls for government action. Labour MP Liam Byrne, who chairs the Commons Business and Trade Committee, argued that the wider impact of the cyberattack cannot be ignored and urged officials to step in.

“What began in some online systems is now rippling through the supply chain, threatening a cashflow crunch that could turn a short-term shock into long-term harm,” he said. “We cannot afford to see a cornerstone of our advanced manufacturing base weakened by events beyond its control.”

Unite trade union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, called on the government to set up a furlough system where it subsidizes the salaries of workers while they are unable to work. “Thousands of these workers in JLR’s supply chain now find their jobs are under an immediate threat because of the cyber attack,” said Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham.

“Ministers need to act fast and introduce a furlough scheme to ensure that vital jobs and skills are not lost while JLR and its supply chain get back on track,” he added.

Hackers Claim Responsibility

Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by a group calling itself Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters. The collective, reportedly made up of teenagers, has been linked to several previous breaches. Members of the group communicate through Telegram and, after the JLR attack, started taunting MI6, the National Cyber Security Center, and Britain’s National Crime Agency, The Telegraph reports.

Investigators believe the hackers exploited a flaw in software provided by SAP to launch a ransomware attack that severely disrupted JLR’s digital infrastructure.