Car dealerships across North America have been experiencing major disruptions due to cyberattacks on software supplier CDK Global. The company, which provides software technology to thousands of auto dealers for day-to-day operations like vehicle sales, financing, insurance and repairs, was hit by two separate cyberattacks on June 19 and 21st. As a result, many dealerships have had to revert to manual processes such as writing up orders by hand.
CDK serves over 15,000 retail locations across North America. The impacted dealerships include major auto companies like Stellantis, Ford and BMW. While sales operations continue for some dealers through alternative routes, others have faced significant delays and inconveniences.
The cyberattacks began on June 19 when CDK Global confirmed an incident and shut down all of its systems out of an abundance of caution. The company executed extensive testing, consulted third-party experts, and restored its core DMS and Digital Retailing solutions by the afternoon. However, another cyberattack occurred later that evening.
CDK remains committed to restoring its services as quickly as possible but has not provided a specific timeline for resolution. The company is also aware of bad actors posing as members or affiliates of CDK to try and obtain system access by contacting customers. It urges employers to be cautious of any attempted phishing.
Dealers are very committed to protecting their customer information and are actively seeking information from CDK to determine the nature and scope of the cyber incident so they can respond appropriately.
