Auto dealer software company CDK Global aims to restore service to all dealers by Thursday following a cyberattack, the company said in a statement on Monday.
CDK provides cloud-based software to more than 15,000 auto dealers in North America that manages the buying, selling, financing, insuring, repair and maintenance of vehicles. The restoration has been underway for more than a week after a June 19 cyberattack and a reported ransom demand forced the company to shut down its systems.
“We are continuing our phased approach to the recovery process and are quickly bringing dealers live on the Dealer Management System (DMS). We expect all dealer connections to be live by the end of Wednesday, July 3 or early morning of Thursday, July 4,” CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney told USA TODAY in an emailed statement, adding that customer service channels have been restored for those experiencing issues.
New car inventory and prices:What shoppers need to know
Cybercriminal team BlackSuit allegedly behind cyber attack
Multiple media outlets reported that Recorded Future ransomware analyst Allan Liska identified BlackSuit as the hacking group behind the cyberattack on CDK. Recorded Future did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
BlackSuit is a newer cybercriminal outfit that grew out of an older, Russian-linked hacking group called RoyalLocker, according to Reuters. Security firm Recorded Future says the group has hacked at least 95 organizations around the world.
Cybercriminals target car dealers
Cybercriminals are a growing threat to auto dealerships, with 17% of the 175 dealerships surveyed experiencing a cyberattack or incident in the past year, up from 15% the year before, according to a 2023 CDK report. Of those dealers, 46% said the cyberattack had a negative financial or operational impact.
Dealerships are attractive targets because of the vast amounts of sensitive customer data they hold. From loan applications to customer financial information, dealerships hold a treasure trove of information for hackers, according to a 2023 paper from insurance company Zurich North America.
“In addition, dealer systems are often connected to external interfaces and portals, such as third-party service providers,” the report said, and many dealers “lack basic cybersecurity measures.”
Dealers returned to pen and paper after CDK failure
Analysts expect new car sales to fall more than 5% in June compared to June 2023, partly due to the impact CDK’s closure had on dealership operations.
Thad Szott, whose family owns car dealerships in Michigan, told the Detroit Free Press that the closure had a dramatic impact on all five of his dealerships.
“Some of it is manual right now. But it’s a lot more cumbersome internally, a lot more cumbersome internally, to process simple things like a repair order or a car deal,” he previously told the Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Craig Schreiber, one of the owners of Northtown Automotive Companies in New York, told USA TODAY the company was able to go back to the old-fashioned way of using handwritten, manual forms in its departments after CDK’s systems were shut down.
Contributors: Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press