Cyberattack disrupts operations at car dealerships across US: What we know

(NEXSTAR) — Car dealerships across the U.S. experienced a major computer system outage on Wednesday as their software provider, CDK Global, dealt with a cybersecurity incident.

The company told Nexstar it has since restored some of its systems while it continues to investigate the incident that halted operations for several auto dealers.

“With the work done so far, our core DMS and Digital Retailing solutions have been restored. We are continuing to conduct extensive tests on all other applications, and we will provide updates as we bring those applications back online,” CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney said in a statement.

“Our first priority is always the security of our customers, and our actions reflect our obligation to them as a trusted partner,” she added.

Finney said CDK erred on the side of caution when it decided to shut down all of its systems on Wednesday. While it’s unclear how many or which dealerships were impacted, CDK works with more than 15,000 retail locations in North America, according to its website.

In a 2023 report, CDK said that 17 percent of 175 dealerships that it surveyed experienced a cyberattack in that past year.

“Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting auto retailers utilizing sophisticated methods meant to appear from secure and trusted sources,” the company previously said in a statement.

As for Wednesday’s cyber threat, CDK said it has consulted “third-party experts” as it investigates the incident. No further details have been released as of Wednesday night.