Cyberattacks affecting car dealership in Hemlock

SAGINAW CO., Mich. (WNEM) – Car dealerships are still feeling the affects of a cyberattack on a company whose software is used in the auto retail sales sector across the U.S. and in Canada.

As the Associated Press previously reported, on Wednesday, June 19, CDK Global was hit with back-to-back cyberattacks. Spokesperson Lisa Finney said after the first attack, CDK shut down all of its systems out of an abundance of caution. Systems were shut down again following the second attack.

Related: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

According to Matt Rick, of Rick Ford Sales, Inc. in Hemlock, CDK said it appears hackers gained access into its DMS system, which includes sensitive customer information a dealer stores in account files. This information could be social security and driver’s license numbers for financed vehicles or only driver’s license numbers if a customer is paying by cash or check.

“Once we were told it was a security breach and not just a hardware failure, we were very concerned for both our customers and our employees,” he said.

Rick said the latest update from CDK, as of the afternoon on June 24, is the entire system has been disconnected and only non-data storing functions are available. This includes phone systems and digital retail for online vehicle shopping.

CDK has been communicating with the dealership diligently, sending updated emails at least two times a day and offering employees alternative methods to using its software, Rick said.

As far as business goes, Rick said it has been affected significantly because employees can’t complete finance contracts and there is limited ability to complete cash vehicle deals properly. However, parts and service repairs are operating fully using paper writeups and estimate sheets.

Rick said there will be a massive backlog of work once CDK’s systems are back online.

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