The disruption caused by a cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) risks damaging Britain\u2019s economic growth and highlights how the government\u2019s hands-off approach to cybersecurity regulation is potentially leading to more serious incidents, according to experts.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
JLR is one of the British economy\u2019s most significant manufacturers, accounting for roughly 4% of all goods exports last year. The company\u2019s operations have been \u201cseverely disrupted\u201d by the attack with many of its own workers instructed to remain home<\/a> until at least Tuesday. Reports suggest thousands of additional staff at supply-chain businesses are also being temporarily laid off due to the shutdown. According to The Times<\/a>, company insiders are concerned the disruption could last beyond September. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is more than a company outage \u2014 it\u2019s an economic security incident,\u201d said Lucas Kello, the director of the University of Oxford’s Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research. \u201cIf disruption drags on for weeks or months, it imperils the government\u2019s central growth mission. How can Britain achieve \u2018the highest sustained growth in the G7\u2019 if its top exporting sector stalls?\u201d <\/p>\n The disruption is the latest to hit a high-profile brand in the United Kingdom, and follows repeated delays in the British government introducing cybersecurity regulations that would require businesses to better protect themselves from attacks. <\/p>\n A government spokesperson explained the delays were purposeful attempts to avoid over-regulating, stating: \u201cConstant government interference puts a stranglehold on businesses, which is why we are focused on only intervening when we absolutely have to. With the support and free advice we have already made available to businesses, they are on a stronger footing to safeguard themselves and deal with disruption.” <\/p>\n Intel agencies warned the tech secretary<\/p>\n In recent years, British intelligence has repeatedly made public and private warnings that the threat posed by hackers to British enterprises and critical infrastructure is increasing. There are growing concerns that the government\u2019s response to those warnings has been insufficient, and that politicians are failing to comprehend and address the issue. <\/p>\n Within hours of his appointment as the technology secretary last year, Peter Kyle said he was made \u201cvery, very aware that there was a cybersecurity challenge that our country faced that I simply wasn\u2019t aware of before becoming secretary of state,\u201d as he later told<\/a> The Guardian. <\/p>\n Recorded Future News has learned that Kyle was taken to a secure location known as a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) and given a classified briefing by the two most senior cyber officials in British intelligence, the head of GCHQ and the head of the National Cyber Security Centre. This has not previously been reported. <\/p>\n The briefing they delivered to him \u2014 which Recorded Future News understands included secret details about Chinese operations targeting British critical infrastructure \u2014 prompted him to take action by bringing forward the government\u2019s new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, he told The Guardian. <\/p>\n More than a year later, that bill has yet to be introduced to parliament, despite an original version being drafted and ready three years ago under the last government. A cabinet reshuffle this month saw Kyle appointed as Secretary of State for Business and Trade without having addressed the cybersecurity challenge he said he had been made aware of. <\/p>\n