Affects over half of all auto dealerships in the US
CDK Global initially reported the cyber incident on June 19
CDK Global was hacked last week
Critical systems for managing scheduling and records are affected
Experts predict a decrease of around 100,000 vehicle sales in June compared to the same period in 2023
In a major disruption for the US car industry, CDK Global, a company that provides software for thousands of car dealerships across the country, was hacked last week in what has been described as a “ ransom event”. The attack has caused significant problems for many dealerships who remain offline and without access to crucial systems. CDK Global is working to restore systems for affected dealers, but no promises have been made about when all will be back up and running. Experts estimate that the cyberattack could lead to a decrease of around 100,000 vehicle sales in June compared to the same period in 2023, representing a loss of more than 7%.
CDK Global powers business operations for over half of all auto dealerships in the US and its software is critical for managing everything from scheduling to records. The company initially reported the “ cyber incident” on June 19, and has since been working to restore systems for affected dealers. However, many remain offline with no clear indication of when they will be fully operational again.
The impact of the cyberattack is expected to have a significant effect on June's auto sales figures. Experts predict that total US new-vehicle sales for June will be around 1.3 million, with a potential decrease of up to 7.2% compared to June 2023. While some of the lost sales may be made up in subsequent months, the temporary disruption is likely to have long-term consequences for both CDK Global and the car dealerships that rely on its software.
The cyberattack highlights the growing threat posed by hackers and underscores the need for companies to invest in robust cybersecurity measures. As more businesses become reliant on technology, the risk of disruption caused by cyberattacks is only set to increase. It is essential that companies take proactive steps to protect their systems and data from potential threats, in order to minimize the impact of any future attacks.
CDK Global, a company that powers sales for thousands of car dealerships in the US, was hacked last week and described it as a ‘ransom event’
Some dealers have had their systems restored after validation is complete, but many still remain offline
CDK is working to bring additional applications like CRM and Service solutions back online
Accuracy
Geoffrey Pohanka of Pohanka Automotive Group in Capitol Heights, Maryland, whose business relies on CDK systems for sales, inventory management and customer relationships, is still using a paper processing system due to the outage
CDK had previously told dealers not to expect all of their systems to be up and running by the end of June
J.D. Power forecasts new vehicle retail sales for June to decrease by up to 8.2% compared with the same month one year earlier due to the CDK outage
The cyberattack temporarily halted critical functions for auto dealerships including sales, service, inventory, customer relationship management, and accounting
Total US new-vehicle sales for June were estimated to be around 1.3 million with a potential decrease of up to 7.2% compared to June 2023
Accuracy
CDK Global serves over 15,000 auto retail locations in North America
Many sales lost in June may be made up later according to analysts
High interest rates and lack of affordability are more responsible for the narrow increase in sales than the cyberattack
Deception
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None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
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The author makes several statements in the article that are accurate and do not contain any identified fallacies. However, there is one instance of an appeal to authority when the author quotes J.D. Power and GlobalData's forecast on U.S. auto sales for June 2024 and the first half of 2024.
According to a joint forecast from J.D. Power and GlobalData, total U.S. new-vehicle sales for June should be around 1.3 million.
The estimated June numbers also imply that U.S. auto sales for the first half of 2024 would be right around 7.8 million.
