CDK Global, which provides software for sales and service management to 15,000 US auto dealerships, has been hit by a cyberattack, which has temporarily shut down its primary systems.

CDK Global Shutting Systems Due to Cyberattack

A spokesperson for CDK informed CBS News on Wednesday that the company is actively investigating a cyber incident, temporarily shutting down its IT systems, phones, and system applications as a precautionary measure to prioritize customer safety and look into restoring operations the quickest time possible.

READ ALSO: Change Healthcare Attacked by Ransomware, Causing Outages Disrupting Clerical and Reimbursement Systems

CDK announced later on Wednesday afternoon that certain systems had been successfully restored and were operational after undergoing testing and consultation with third-party experts. According to a statement provided to CBS MoneyWatch, CDK's core dealer management system and Digital Retailing solutions had been restored. The company added that extensive testing was ongoing for all other applications, with further updates to follow as these applications were brought back online.

While some systems have been restored, numerous social media reports suggest that many dealers are still unable to process sales deals or other transactions.

CDK Global Hit with Second Day of Hacking

However, according to information provided to CBS MoneyWatch on Thursday afternoon, CDK's systems were offline again following another cyberattack on Wednesday. A spokesperson stated that CDK encountered an additional cyber incident in the late evening of June 19 and took proactive measures to shut down most of its systems. They mentioned ongoing collaboration with third-party experts to evaluate the impact and provide regular customer updates. CDK emphasized their continued vigilance in restoring services promptly to ensure dealers can resume normal operations swiftly.

Calls to CDK's customer support hotline were met with a continuous busy signal. Still, the company's automated recording informed callers that there was no estimated timeframe for resolution, indicating that dealers' systems might remain unavailable for an extended period, according to PC Mag.

Numbers of Cyberattack Cases in The Past Year

A notable increase in cyberattacks has been observed in the past year, where data firm SOAX reported over 3,200 data breaches in 2023, marking a 78% surge compared to the previous year, affecting over 65 million individuals during that period.

CDK's dealer management system (DMS) is a centralized hub allowing businesses to monitor operations through a unified interface. At the same time, its retail tools enable dealerships to conduct transactions both online and in physical showrooms.

How are Dealerships Responding?

Under the CDK down thread on Reddit, an employee inquired how many others were idle due to their reliance on CDK for their dealership operations. Users from Wisconsin and Colorado confirmed that their dealership transaction systems were offline as well. Some dealerships resort to creative measures to sustain operations during the outage, and some use spreadsheets and sticky notes to handle small parts sales and repairs, although they are unable to process larger transactions.

RELATED ARTICLE: UnitedHealth Confirming Data Breach in Cyberattack, Paid Threat Actors Ransom to Prevent Patient Data Disclosure