Car Dealers Down Across the Country After Cyberattack
Cyberattacks keep growing worse. When will the authorities take them seriously?
A company called CDK Global runs the backend software for over half of the nation’s auto dealers, who are now offline as CDK was hacked by an Eastern European group twice last week. The group is demanding a ransom, and CDK will reportedly be forced to pay it. Even then, it will take at least several days for CDK to get back online—possibly several months—and in the meantime some dealerships are resorting to paper records or shutting down entirely.
This story has been covered in the mainstream press, but I don’t think they’ve properly conveyed the severity of this cyberattack. That’s why I turn to niche experts like Car Dealership Guy, who can provide insider insight. “Without a functioning DMS, dealers must rely on paper alternatives to conduct business across multiple departments, heavily handicapping their ability to serve customers at normal volumes. A long-term disruption could even have an impact on the U.S. GDP, of which automotive sales comprise 3% to 3.5%,” he said.
The CDK hack could have major economic implications, and it’s hard to understate how much chaos this caused at dealerships.
“Ya. I went to get a part I ordered from a local Toyota dealership and it was a mess in the service department. Basically low level panic,” said Jeff Boldrick.
“I spoke with two new car dealers on Wednesday, one located in Virginia and one in North Carolina both with multiple rooftops that have CDK as their operating system. They cannot print a repair order in their service departments, they can’t sell a part much less sell a car or even obtain financing for a customer. Both dealers said they were better off to have just closed their dealerships on Wednesday till this was resolved because they simply cannot conduct any business. Now faced with this again on Thursday,” said Charles Brandon Boyd.
Cyberattacks seem to be growing in frequency and severity. This one follows the shutdown of several hospitals. At what point will authorities start taking them seriously?