Cyberattacks on CDK Global result in prolonged outages at U.S. car dealerships, impacting operations nationwide.
Auto retailers and car dealerships across the U.S. are grappling with prolonged outages after a second cyberattack targeted CDK Global, a tech company specializing in software for managing auto customer and vehicle data.
CDK Global informed its customers on Thursday that the latest cyberattack, occurring late Wednesday, has caused extended disruptions with no estimated timeline for resolution. Customer support services remain unavailable as a security precaution.
Lisa Finney, a spokesperson for CDK, confirmed the incident, stating that most of their systems are affected. The company is working with third-party experts to assess the impact and provide updates as they work towards restoring services swiftly.
CDK’s software is integral to operations at approximately 15,000 dealerships nationwide. Reports of the initial cyberattack surfaced on Wednesday, prompting widespread outages in CDK-run dealer management systems used for handling customer appointments and vehicle records. Affected dealerships have resorted to alternative methods amid the ongoing service disruptions.
While CDK has not disclosed the specifics of the cyberattacks, it acknowledged shutting down all systems initially on Wednesday. Partial restoration efforts began later that day, but the severity and connection between the first and second attacks remain unclear. CDK has not confirmed if any data was exfiltrated from their systems during these incidents.
