Several car dealerships across the U.S. are facing significant disruptions in their operations after cyberattacks on CDK Global, a software provider used by many dealerships, caused sales systems to go offline. The impact on businesses like auto dealerships is severe, as it prevents them from processing paperwork, financing transactions, and completing sales. Tom Maioli, owner of Celebrity Motor Car Company, has described the situation as being in limbo with no clear timeline for when systems will be fully functional again. CDK Global took down its services as a precaution, leading to further complications for dealers and customers.
The outage caused by the cyberattack has affected approximately 15,000 dealerships that rely on CDK’s services, disrupting various aspects of their operations, including generating forms, managing paperwork, and processing transactions. Geoff Pohanka, chairman of Pohanka Automotive Group, stated that the outage has impacted the company’s sales, service, and parts departments, causing delays in completing transactions and generating work orders. Despite the challenges, dealerships like Sport Honda in Maryland are making efforts to serve customers using manual processes and alternative methods while CDK works to restore services.
The financial implications of the tech failure are expected to be substantial, considering that CDK powers sales for around half of the car dealerships in the U.S. Dealers like Maioli are considering legal action against the company for the disruption caused by the cyberattack, as it has resulted in lost revenue and potential customer dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, other dealerships have resorted to tracking orders manually, using sticky notes, and Excel spreadsheets to log transactions. The situation has been described as a “royal pain in the rear” by Pohanka, as the longer the outage continues, the greater the impact on revenue and customer service.
With CDK indicating that the outage could last several days, dealerships are left to manage operations manually and find workarounds to serve customers. The outage has highlighted the vulnerability of businesses to cyber threats and the importance of having contingency plans in place to mitigate the impact of such incidents. While some businesses have managed to adapt by returning to traditional methods of operation, the overall impact on sales, revenue, and customer satisfaction remains a significant concern for dealerships across the country. The aftermath of the cyberattack serves as a stark reminder of the challenges businesses face in an increasingly digital world and the need for robust cybersecurity measures to prevent such disruptions in the future.
