No compromise of TCS systems in recent cyberattacks on clients, says COO

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India’s largest IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said none of its systems were compromised in the cyberattacks faced by its three major UK-based customers Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Co-op and Marks & Spencer. These incidents happened in less than a year.

The most recent case was of another Tata Group company and UK’s biggest automotive firm Jaguar Land Rover in September.

Speaking at TCS’ Q2 earnings conference call on October 9, Aarthi Subramanian, Executive Director - President & Chief Operating Officer, TCS, clarified that the breach, which forced JLR to shut down parts of its IT infrastructure and production facilities for weeks, was not due to TCS.

“These threats are getting more and more sophisticated. We are working closely with our customers to safeguard their interests. Recent incidents saw some of our TCS clients becoming victims to these cyberattacks, resulting in disruptions to their businesses. I would like to clarify that there has been no compromise of TCS systems,” She said.

Subramanian added, “There was not any impact to other customers of TCS in these incidents. The investigations for these incidents are being managed by the customers respectively. TCS is playing a significant role in supporting the customers in their recovery efforts. These efforts have been positively acknowledged by our customers.”

TCS reported its Q2 earnings on October 9. Net profit rose 1.4 percent year-on-year at Rs 12,075 crore for the quarter ended September 30. The net profit was slightly lower than the Street estimates as the company accounted for a Rs 1,135 crores restructuring expense, likely driven by the ongoing layoffs that will impact over 12,000 jobs at TCS.

TCS' revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 65,799 crore, marking a 3.7 percent sequential rise and 0.8 percent growth in constant currency terms.

Operating margin expanded by 70 basis points QoQ to 25.2 percent.