Nearly one in three British manufacturers has experienced a cyberattack either directly or through a company in its supply chain, highlighting the growing cybersecurity threat facing businesses.

The findings were contained in a survey by Make UK, a lobby group representing British manufacturers, and come nearly a year after Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s largest automotive employer, suffered a cyberattack that disrupted production for several weeks.

According to the report, 30 per cent of manufacturers recorded a cyber incident in the past 12 months, with many reporting production delays and higher costs as a result.

Despite the growing threat, only half of the companies surveyed had a plan in place to respond to a cyberattack.

The risk has increased in recent years as cybercriminals, including groups linked to hostile states, have become more sophisticated and capable of breaching corporate security systems.

Large businesses have reported facing almost constant attempts to gain unauthorised access to their systems, while the UK government estimates that cybercrime costs the country’s economy £14.7bn annually.

The rapid growth of generative AI systems, some of which have demonstrated the ability to autonomously breach other businesses, has added urgency to efforts by manufacturers to strengthen their cyber defences.

Manufacturers have increasingly connected their factories and production systems to improve efficiency and gain faster insights into operations. However, the greater level of connectivity has also expanded the potential damage attackers can cause once they gain access to a company’s network.

JLR was forced to shut down systems across its factories, offices and retail operations after detecting digital intruders on the final day of August last year.

The independent Cyber Monitoring Centre estimated that the attack cost the UK economy at least £1.9bn, potentially making it the country’s most expensive cyber incident on record.

Much of the economic damage came from lost production at JLR and disruptions affecting its suppliers.

The New York Times reported in June that British law enforcement had concluded that Russian hackers were responsible for the attack.

Other big attacks reported publicly in recent years include two FTSE 100 manufacturers who reported attacks within days of each other early in 2025: the valve maker IMI and the components maker Smiths Group.

In the retail sector, Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods all suffered costly breaches last year.