Cyberattacks are a huge concern in any industry. Recently, CDK Global experienced a cyberattack that crippled the platform.
What happened as a result of this cyberattack? CDK Global is an online platform that provides support for automotive dealerships across the United States and Canada. This platform includes software for managing sales and various services that car dealers rely on. This outage impacted nearly 15,000 car dealers in North America, making it nearly impossible for these dealers to sell cars to customers looking for their next vehicle.
No indication when the platform would resume operations has been shared, which leaves many dealerships and customers in a lurch.
Why has CDK shut down most of its operations?
Vehicle purchases are one of the largest expenditures for many people. This purchase requires an abundance of personal information to complete. This includes a customer’s SSN, driver’s license, and banking information, which are all items that hackers would love to get their hands on. So far, there’s no information regarding how deep this attack went or whether or not any customer data is actually in jeopardy of future hacks.
Because CDK doesn’t know if they can resume operations or if customer data is still secure, they shut down most systems and are working to get things back up and running quickly.
Two attacks on CDK took place
The first of the two cyberattacks on CDK Global took place on Tuesday, June 18. The team at CDK worked through the night to bring many services back online, but the system was attacked again the next day. This second attack led to the company keeping things shut down for much longer, with no concrete plan to restore services for dealerships yet.
The second attack makes the platform more unsure of being able to protect customer information and avoid a third attack.
What are car dealers doing?
Because this attack impacted nearly 15,000 car dealerships, it’s likely you’ll have trouble buying a car at most locations right now. Some dealerships are using pen-and-paper to complete service and small repair tickets but not to process sales. This means many car salespeople aren’t able to do much more than follow up with customers and let them know what’s going on. This makes it extremely difficult to sell cars and get customers what they want.
There isn’t much car dealers can do right now. Most are completely reliant upon computerized functionality to get the job done.
How can you protect yourself from cyberattacks?
These two cyberattacks on CDK Global bring up an extremely important topic: security. Most of us only think about cybersecurity when we or someone we know has been hacked or attacked. Just as a reminder, here are a few ways to protect yourself from cyberattacks.
Download antivirus software
Antivirus software scans and eliminates computer viruses before they ever begin. Your antivirus software can schedule and perform automatic scans to ensure the health of your computer. You can set the schedule to scan your computer when you won’t be using it.
Install a firewall
A firewall is designed to prevent hackers from entering your network. The more attacks you can keep out of your system, the better. Many computers have built-in firewalls, but you should get a more robust version if you’re running a business and could have access to private customer information.
Use a secure Wi-Fi network
Don’t allow your computer to connect to an unsecured Wi-Fi network, especially if it’s a business computer. Using a secure Wi-Fi network with an encrypted and hidden password helps improve your security. If you have to access a public Wi-Fi network, ensure you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to keep your computer connection secure.
Try to avoid phishing
The most common way cyberattacks occur is through phishing. While it’s unclear if the cyberattacks on CDK Global were from phishing efforts, this makes it much easier to get into your network. If you’re unsure about a link or don’t recognize an email as valid, don’t click on it. It’s better to delete these links and messages than to let a hacker into your system.
Use strong passwords
Most websites require stronger and longer passwords than ever before to make an account. Don’t use common passwords for banking or private information. These passwords should be more complex and contain various characters to make it nearly impossible to hack into your system.
The cyberattacks on CDK Global took down more than 15,000 car dealerships in North America. Where will these hackers or others like them strike next?
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