Labour told ‘act now’ as Russia suspected of being behind major attack to British brand | UK | News
Labor has been warned to increase defense spending “much faster” as Russia is suspected to be behind the massive cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). The scale of the attack led the carmaker to suspend operations at three of its UK sites for more than a month. While a final assessment has not been made yet, it is stated that the Kremlin is among the possible suspects of the attack. Telegram revealed. Last month Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned of Russian state cyber attacks on the UK but stopped short of naming specific cases.
Shadow defense secretary James Cartlidge is now urging Labor to focus its attention on defending Britain. “In an environment where Putin is provoking NATO allies with drone and warplane strikes, it would be very significant if it turned out to be a Russian cyber attack on our industry,” he said.
Mr Cartlidge told the news outlet: “We know Russia is deliberately testing our resolve. It underlines why the Government’s full effort must be on the defense of the homeland. Labor needs to increase defense spending much faster than planned.”
Suspicions that the attack came from a foreign state arise from the magnitude of the damage caused and the impact it had.
Experts from the Government Communications Center were sent to the automaker to figure out what happened. A spokesman said: “The investigation is ongoing and we caution against speculation. The Government has persistently called out a number of actors for malicious cyber activity against the UK and will continue to do so.”
Last week JLR announced the latest steps in the phased restart of its operations. “This week marks an important moment for JLR and all our stakeholders, as we restart our production activities following the cyber incident,” the company said in a statement.
“I would like to thank everyone associated with JLR for their commitment, hard work and efforts over recent weeks to get us to this point. We know there is more to be done, but our recovery remains determined.”
JLR employs around 30,000 people at the company’s UK sites in Solihull, Wolverhampton and Halewood. About 1,000 people work for companies that help supply component parts to plants.
The UK government had previously announced it would provide loan guarantees worth £1.5bn to the carmaker, insisting that some of the money would go towards providing aid to supply chain companies.
