Last week, CDK Global – which serves close to 15,000 automotive dealerships in the U.S. – shut down most of its systems following a cyberattack that occurred early that Wednesday morning. The company then set out to determine the scope of the damage from that attack, as well as figure out how to patch any holes that might be present in its software. However, that process hit a bit of a snag the very next day when CDK brought its systems back online, only to experience a second cyberattack. As one might imagine, this downtime continues to have a big impact on many Ford dealers, and now, it seems as if these issues may continue a bit longer than previously expected.
As Ford Authority reported earlier this week, CDK previously anticipated coming up with a workaround for the issues stemming from its cyberattack at some point this week, but now, the company has informed its clients that it doesn’t expect to be fully back online until
“at least” this Sunday, according to USA Today. “We are continuing the restoration process of our core applications and are making significant process,” CDK stated. “Should you need to make alternate plans for your month-end financial close process, you should do so.”
Thus far, a number of Ford dealers have been impacted by the fallout from this cyberattack, which includes Village Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. That store sold around 100 vehicles last week, though those transactions are now in limbo since CDK generates the paperwork needed to pass them on to the new owners.
Meanwhile, a group of hackers believed to be based in eastern Europe has claimed responsibility for these acts, and are demanding millions of dollars in ransom money before they’ll agree to stop the attacks. CDK reportedly plans to pay this ransom, but according to recent reports, those plans are subject to change, it seems.
We’ll have more on this cyberattack soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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Informative article.