By ROB HULL, MOTORING EDITOR
French car giant Renault has become the latest motoring industry victim of a cyber breach - confirming UK customer personal data was stolen during the breach.
Renault Group UK emailed drivers to confirm that a third-party data processing business used by the car firm was targeted by hackers.
As a result, 'some customers' personal data has been taken from one of their systems,' Renault said.
It has been reported that some owners and customers of Dacia vehicles, which are also made by Renault, have also been affected.
The company stressed that no financial data, such as bank account details, or password data was compromised in the attack.
But it said data accessed in the hack included some or all of: customer names, addresses, dates of birth, gender, phone number, vehicle identification numbers and vehicle registration details.
It comes in the wake of a spate of cyber attacks on global businesses, including Jaguar Land Rover, which has seen the car maker suspend vehicle production for a month, struggle to register new models and send UK suppliers into a financial meltdown.
French car giant Renault has been hit by a third-party supplier cyber breach - and UK customers' personal data has been snared by hackers
Renault has not disclosed how many customers are affected by the cyber incident.
It added that no direct Renault Group UK systems have been compromised.
A spokesman for Renault UK said: 'We are in the process of contacting all affected customers, advising them of the cyber attack and reminding them to be cautious of any unsolicited requests for personal information.
'Concerned customers should consult https://www.renault.co.uk/data-privacy.html or contact our data protection officer at dataprivacy@renault.co.uk.
'We wish to apologise to all affected customers.
'Data privacy is of the upmost importance to us and we deeply regret that this has occurred.'
Renault Group UK has emailed drivers to confirm that a third-party data processing business used by the car firm was targeted
It comes as rival JLR continues to try to recover and restart its global operations in the damaging fallout of the cyber attack on its systems on the last day in August.
This caused the UK's largest car manufacturer to halt production entirely, with assembly lines unable to complete a single model throughout the month of September.
Last week, JLR said it expects to restart some production within 'the coming days', with some of its factory workers returning more than a month after the hack was carried out on 31 August.
According to the BBC, manufacturing processes will initially resume at JLR's engine factory in Wolverhampton as its vehicle plants in Halewood, Merseryside, and Solihull in the West Midlands remain paused.
JLR has for more than a month been grappling with restarting its IT systems and vehicle production lines following its high-profile cyber breach
Experts have warned the production shutdown could hit the group's bottom line by around £120 million, with the firm usually thought to build about 1,000 cars a day.
The pause has also left its suppliers in limbo leading to calls for urgent financial support, with the Government announcing it would underwrite a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to JLR to give suppliers some certainty over payments.
The loan, from a commercial bank, will help to bolster JLR's cash reserves as it pays back companies in its supply chain, who have been majorly impacted by the shutdown.
Unions and politicians have raised fears that small suppliers producing parts for the car giant could collapse without financial support.
JLR has the largest supply chain in the UK automotive sector, which employs around 120,000 people and is largely made up of small and medium-sized businesses.
In the aftermath of the attack on August 31, ministers have been in contact daily with JLR and cyber experts, as the company seeks to restart production.
Downing Street said it had been 'a concerning time for workers at Jaguar Land Rover and, of course, across the supply chain'.
A raft of other businesses have also been hit by major cyber attacks in recent months, including beer giant Asahi, high street retailer Marks & Spencer and nursery group Kido Schools.