Former armed forces minister suggests the £2.1bn Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack, Britain's costliest ever, was state-sponsored
Al Carns, who told a Chatham House audience that the Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack was state-sponsored, with his comments only now emerging publicly despite the hack shutting production lines for five weeks.The costliest cyber-attack in British history, the JLR hack put roughly 200,000 jobs at risk and has been tied by a June investigation to a Russian hacking group.
Al Carns made the remarks at a Chatham House event in July, though they only recently came to light. 'We know the Jaguar Land Rover attack was state-sponsored,' the former armed forces minister said, while acknowledging this did not reflect an official Ministry of Defence assessment. A June investigation pointed to a Russian hacking group as the perpetrator. The UK government continues to decline to identify those responsible, citing the ongoing investigation.
Jaguar Land Rover shut down production for five weeks following the attack in September last year.
Some 5,000 firms were affected, with around 200,000 jobs placed in jeopardy.
Carns: an attack that size is 'highly unlikely' without 'the host state knowing'.
