A cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover causes a catastrophe of the supply chain

Almost immediately after the cyber attack, a group in the telegram called scattered Lapsus $ Hunters, Alleged responsibility For the hack. The group name implies potential cooperation between three loose hacking collectives – Scattered spiderPresent $And Shiny hunter-The was behind some of the most famous cyber attacks in recent years. They often consist of Young, English -language, cybercriminals who are addressing large companies.

Building vehicles is an extremely complex process. Hundreds of different companies provide parts, materials, electronics and more for vehicle manufacturers and these expansive supply chain networks often abandoned on “Just-in-time” production. This means that you order that parts and services are delivered in the required specific quantities, and exactly when you need you, it is unlikely that you will be available from car manufacturers.

“The supplier networks that are supplied in these production facilities are all set up for efficiency – economic efficiency and also logistical efficiency,” says Siraj Ahmed ShaikhProfessor of Systems Safety at Swansea University. “There is a very carefully orchestrated supply chain,” adds Shaikh and generally talks about automotive production. “There is a critical dependency for those suppliers who offer this type of operation. As soon as there is a fault in this type of facility, all suppliers are affected.”

A company that produces GLA sun roof has started according to a report in the worker telegraph. In the meantime, another company told the BBC So far it has released around 40 people. French automotive company OpposmobilityThe 38,000 employee uses 150 locations, said that it made some changes and monitors the events. “Opmobility configures its production at certain locations as a result of the shutdown of its production by one of its customers in the UK and depending on the development of the situation,” says a spokesman for the company.

It is unclear which specific JLR systems have been influenced by the hackers and which systems JLR made proactive, but many were probably taken offline to prevent the attack from being worsened. “It is very difficult to ensure containment while you still have connections between different systems,” says Orla CoxHead of EMEA cyber security communication at FTI Consulting, which reacts to cyber attacks and works to examinations. “Often there will also be dependencies on different systems: they take one off, then this means that it affects another.”

Whenever there is a hack in part of a supply chain – whether this is a manufacturer at the top of the pyramid or a company below in the pipeline – the digital connections between companies can be separated to prevent the spread of attackers from one network to the next. Connections via VPNs or APIs can be stopped, says Cox. “Some may even take stronger measures such as blocking domains and IP addresses. Then things like e -mails can no longer be used between the two organizations.”

The complexity of digital and physical supply chains that extend over dozens of companies and just-in-time production systems probably means that everything can take time if everything is brought back online and up to full work speed. According to the MacColl, the Rusi researcher, cyber security problems are often discussed at the highest level of British politics – but this time a difference could differ differently due to the expansion of the disorder. “This incident has the potential, due to the loss of jobs and the fact that MPs receive calls in this regard, calls calls,” he says. This breakthrough has already started.