Car dealerships, repair shops feeling impact of cyberattack on software provider

LAKE PARK, Fla. (CBS12) — Car dealerships around the country are experiencing disruptions due to a cyberattack that happened last week.

Some dealerships and auto repair shops in our area also feel the impact.

This cyberattack affects thousands of car dealerships in the U.S.

This means they may have to fill out sales paperwork, financing, and insurance papers by hand instead of doing them online.

“This is a first for us. So this is uncharted territory. We are completely dead in the water,” Katie Gugliotta, general manager at a car dealership in Bel Air, Maryland.

Some car dealerships are wrestling with a cyberattack involving CDK, a company whose software is used by many car dealerships.

“We just took the hard choice of deciding to shut down at this point because it’s too hard,” Gugliotta said

Some dealerships in our area are having to complete the paperwork the old-fashioned way with pen and paper, because they are unable to use the computer software that they need for titles, insurance and sales contracts.

“One of the salespeople mentioned that there was a hack with the system and that we would have to do it the old way which was a lot of paperwork,” said Mel Carlock, a Boynton Beach resident.

Carlock bought an SUV at a dealership in Lake Park on Sunday.

But it’s not just dealerships impacted. Repair shops are, too.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Adam Hamill, service manager at Lake Park Auto and Fleet Repair.

Hamill says because of the cyberattack, he can’t get parts needed from dealerships to repair some of the cars people bring in.

“It slows business down because we have to have cars sit here waiting on a specific part that we have no choice but to get from the dealership. We have absolutely no control over it,” Hamill said.

One expert says the chances are that the people who hacked into CDK are in a foreign country somewhere, and they will demand a ransom.

“The attackers are after a big payday, and so they go after critical systems like this,” said Cliff Steinhauer, Director of Information Security and Engagement at the National Cybersecurity Alliance.

He says the hackers may also get their hands on the personal information of countless people who’ve bought a car at a car dealership in the past few years.

“If you have bought a car in the past several years and your information is with the dealer who’s been impacted by this breach, it’s possible that your data has been accessed and could be published online,” Steinhauer said.

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Car dealerships have a lot of information about consumers, including possibly their Social Security number, address, financial information, and employment history.

So if you bought a car recently, Steinhauer says keep an eye on your accounts for any unusual activity to make sure the hackers don’t have your information.