The automotive sector is experiencing a troubling rise in cybersecurity threats, with a report revealing that incidents more than doubled in the past year. Upstream’s 2026 Global Automotive and Smart Mobility Cybersecurity Report, published on February 18, indicates that ransom-related attacks represented 44% of all cybersecurity incidents in 2025, a significant increase compared to 2024.
This surge follows a major cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover, which disrupted the company’s IT systems and halted global vehicle production for nearly 40 days. The report highlights how the shift towards software-defined vehicles has increased vulnerabilities, leading to new potential entry points for cybercriminals.
Moreover, organized threat actors are becoming more sophisticated, with their activities fueled by the rapid growth of application programming interfaces and AI-driven software. An analysis of 494 cybersecurity incidents from the previous year reveals that financially motivated groups are coordinating efforts to specifically target the automotive industry, threatening to incur losses amounting to billions of dollars.