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Jaguar Land Rover says ‘some data’ impacted by cyberattack

Jaguar Land Rover says 'some data' impacted by cyberattack
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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said Wednesday it believes “some data” was accessed in a major cyberattack which has led the automaker to halt production since early last week.

It is the latest blow for British-based JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, as it also suffers fallout from US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs regime.

JLR previously said there was “no evidence” customer data had been stolen, but in an update Wednesday the company revealed its investigations indicated some data has been impacted.

“As a result of our ongoing investigation, we now believe that some data has been affected and we are informing the relevant regulators,” a JLR spokesman said.

“Our forensic investigation continues at pace and we will contact anyone as appropriate if we find that their data has been impacted.”

JLR provided no further details on the nature of the compromised material.

Apologising for the disruption, the firm noted it had been “working around the clock alongside third‑party cybersecurity specialists, to restart our global applications in a controlled and safe manner”.

The company announced on September 2 that it had been hit by a cyberattack, which had forced it to shut down its systems, severely disrupting its sales and production operations.

A source close to the company said Wednesday that production remained halted, and JLR has informed its employees that work will not resume until the coming “Monday at the earliest”.

Cyber gangs have increasingly targeted luxury brands and retailers.

British retailer Marks and Spencer recently suffered a cyberattack that crippled its online services for weeks and cost the group £300 million ($402 million).

The luxury department store Harrods and the Co-op food chain have also been hit in recent months.

JLR reported a sharp reduction in sales after it temporarily paused exports of its cars to the United States in April in response to Trump’s tariffs.

A trade agreement between London and Washington which came into force at the end of June reduced the tariff on UK car exports to 10 percent from 27.5 percent, on a limit of 100,000 vehicles annually.

But the luxury car and SUV maker said it still planned to cut up to 500 UK management jobs.

Also on Wednesday, UK train operator LNER said passengers’ contact details and some information about past journeys have been accessed in a fresh cyberattack.

The government-owned organisation, which runs services on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland, said it was “made aware of unauthorised access to files managed by a third-party supplier”.

“No bank, payment card or password information has been affected,” it added in a statement.

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AFP

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.

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