In a letter sent to over 15,000 dealerships yesterday, CEO Brian MacDonald acknowledged the challenges posed by CDK’s cyberattacks and assured dealerships of forthcoming financial relief. The letter did not disclose specific compensation plan details, but MacDonald indicated that CDK’s Customer Engagement Team would provide further information.
The cyberattacks, identified as part of a ransomware event, led to a two-week shutdown that severely impacted dealership operations, including sales for the month and quarter. CDK reportedly paid the ransom and restored most DMS services by July 3. During the downtime, dealerships resorted to manual processes and are still working to re-establish third-party software connections that were disabled as a precautionary measure.
MacDonald underscored CDK’s unwavering commitment to bolstering the cybersecurity resilience of the wider dealer community. “For the industry, we are offering any dealer — regardless of whether or not they are a CDK customer — a free tool to conduct training to better prepare for potential cyber incidents and help dealership employees avoid common pitfalls,” he said.
The company is actively pursuing its investigation into the cause of the attacks and has not confirmed if any data was compromised. In his letter, MacDonald expressed gratitude to affected dealers for their patience and partnership during the restoration process, noting that all major applications are now available and integrations are coming online rapidly.
CDK has taken steps to secure its environment to prevent future incidents and is working with top third-party security experts to evolve its security approach. “As a market leader, CDK is well equipped to make the ongoing and necessary investments,” MacDonald stated.
Meanwhile, Rita Case, CEO of Rick Case Automotive Group and a longtime CDK customer, appreciated CDK’s communication and suggested a compensation plan. She suggested offering the dealers a credit equivalent to three months of their services. She also noted that the industry needs to stay positive and work together.
According to industry analysts, CDK Global controls close to 50% of the U.S. DMS market.
