CDK Global restores systems after cyber incident paralyzes over 15,000 retail locations

Retail technology and software provider CDK Global is actively working to restore the systems used in over 15,000 retail stores across North America. The company said Sunday that the recovery process is expected to take several days. In the meantime, CDK is working with its customers and offering alternative business methods to mitigate the disruptions.

Last Wednesday, CDK Global briefly shut down all of its systems to investigate a cyber incident. This outage had a significant impact on U.S. auto dealers, including Sonic Automotive and Penske Automotive, which reported operational losses on Friday, the third day of the outage. According to Bloomberg, the hackers responsible for the cyberattacks have demanded millions of dollars in ransom to cease their activities.

CDK Global, a major software provider for car dealerships, informed a dealer in a letter that it could take several more days to restore the system. This extended downtime underscores the severity of the cyber incident and its far-reaching impact on the automotive trade.

In a significant move, Brookfield Business Partners acquired CDK Global for a staggering $6.41 billion in April 2022, effectively converting the last major publicly traded software provider for auto dealers and manufacturers into a private company. This acquisition is a testament to the central role CDK plays in the automotive industry, which is now grappling with the far-reaching consequences of this cyberattack.