In recent years, as automobiles become more and more connected and digitized, concerns over cybersecurity have followed. Ford has worked to get ahead of potential cyberattacks in a number of ways, while various U.S. government agencies attempt to do the same. Regardless, there’s still some work to be done, as is evidenced by a cyberattack that just occurred today – one that has caused a serious problem for a lot of automotive dealerships.
According to Automotive News, CDK Global – which serves close to 15,000 dealerships in the U.S. – has shut down most of its systems following a cyberattack that occurred early this morning. “Dear Valued Customers, we are currently experiencing a cyber incident,” the company said in a statement. “Out of caution and concern for our customers, we have shut down a majority of our systems. We are currently assessing the overall impact and currently have no ETA. Please know our teams are working hard to get everything up and running, and we will update as information is available.”
This message was sent not only to dealers impacted by the cyberattack and resulting outage, but also, dealerships who “have the potential to experience the issue and have signed up for critical alerts,” according to the company. This outage impacts a variety of specific products, according to CDK, including CDK Service, Common Admin, DRIVE, Drive Workflow Menu, Fortellis, Fortellis Integration Portal, Global Content Management, Intelligence Suite, Modern Retail CRM, Modern Retail Digital Retail, Modern Retail eSign and the MyInstall Dealer Portal.
Currently, the scope of this cyberattack is unclear, but CDK is assessing the damage at the moment while its systems are shut down to prevent any further problems. The incident began around eight hours ago, which could be a bad sign, however. “Generally, the longer it takes to identify the scope of the cyber incident, the worse it is,” an anonymous source familiar with security incidents told Ford Authority. In the meantime, customers impacted by this attack can sign up to receive status updates by heading over here.
We’ll have more on this cyberattack soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
I AM AT A FORD DEALER IN DENVER. THEY DID NOT NOTIFY US FOR HOURS. TRIED CALLING THEM, NO MESSAGE NO NOTHING JUST SAID YOUR CALL CAN NOT BE COMPLETED AT THIS TIME. WE ARE PRETTY MUCH SHUT DOWN IN SERVICE. UNABLE TO GENRATE ROs, CHARGE OUT PARTS OR INVOICE ROs. A GREAT DAY!!
same here in va