CDK Global responds to cyberattacks and provides dealer support

The ongoing cyberattack on CDK Global underscores the growing complexity and impact of cybersecurity threats on organizations. As part of CDK Global’s ongoing response, the company has established a Dealer Resource Center (DRC) to help dealers maintain operations while their systems are restored. The company also encourages dealers to contact CDK University for necessary training and support.

In a recent Instagram statement, the company acknowledged uncertainty about the recovery timeline, saying, “We do not have an estimated timeframe for resolution and as a result, our merchants’ systems will likely be unavailable for several days.” Due to this long downtime, many merchants are struggling to process sales and maintain operations.

According to Pieter Arntz, malware analyst at Malwarebytes, stressed that CDK Global was hit by a second attack while it was still recovering from the first. He suggested that the rapid restoration of systems may have allowed the attackers to linger longer: “Restoring systems from, say, a week ago is often not enough. Attackers can afford to linger on a system for a long time.”

In addition, Andy Thompson, Offensive Cybersecurity Research Evangelist at CyberArkspeculated on the possibility that multiple threat actors were involved. He explains, “We saw this with the RNC hack in 2020, where multiple state threat actors were injected into the RNC networks without each other’s knowledge. This potentially sounds like one of those situations.”

Thompson also discussed the evolution of ransomware tactics such as polymorphic malware and intermittent encryption that complicate detection and response efforts.

“We thank you for your patience as we recover from this cyberattack,” CDK said. “Please visit the Dealer Resource Center and CDK University for the latest updates and support.”

The ongoing cyberattack on CDK Global highlights the increasing complexity and impact of cybersecurity threats on businesses. As CDK works to restore its systems, expert insights provide valuable insight into the nature of these attacks and the evolving tactics used by cybercriminals. Merchants are encouraged to utilize available resources and remain vigilant against further threats.