CDK? SOL!

[atlkvb]

Without going into a whole bunch of detail I can confirm our dealership along with thousands of others across America were definitely effected by the CDK hack this week. Last we heard, the company (CDK) will pay the 80 million dollar ransom because they were facing significant lawsuits from dealership groups for loss of revenue

For those of you who are unaware CDK is the essential DMS software (dealer management system) that lets us operate our business, including handling payroll, inventory, customer relations and office operations. In effect, we're sh*t out of luck if we can't use it! We've had sales pending we can't close, service contracts can't be written, and inventories can't be accessed to sell wholesale or retail parts. At my Dealership we've lost over 200K in business in just the past two days!

We were all sent home yesterday (Friday) after it was apparent our operations had ground to a halt. The cyberhackers apparently conducted their hack from Europe, but they're demanding American dollars. CDK is a multi billion dollar company, so it's cheaper for them to pay the ransom than continue trying to bypass the hack. (which they haven't been able to do btw)

It's a real mess. I've lost at least a dozen sales leads, and missed out on closing two very large deals. So I'm definitely effected here.

Here's latest on the hack

https://www.autonews.com/retail/cdk-global-cyberattack-hackers-want-millions-end-outage

 

[roadtrasheer]

Without going into a whole bunch of detail I can confirm our dealership along with thousands of others across America were definitely effected by the CDK hack this week. Last we heard, the company (CDK) will pay the 80 million dollar ransom because they were facing significant lawsuits from dealership groups for loss of revenue

For those of you who are unaware CDK is the essential DMS (dealer management system) that lets us operate our business, including handling payroll, inventory, customer relations and office operations. In effect, we're sh*t out of luck if we can't use it! We've had sales pending we can't close, service contracts can't be written, and inventories can't be accessed to sell wholesale or retail parts. At my Dealership we've lost over 200K in business in just the past two days!

We were all sent home yesterday (Friday) after it was apparent our operations had ground to a halt. The cyberhackers apparently conducted their hack form Europe, but they're demanding American dollars. CDK is a multi billion dollar company, so it's cheaper for them to pay the ransom than continue trying to bypass the hack. (which they haven't been able to do btw)

It's a real mess. I've lost at least a dozen sales leads, and missed out on closing two very large deals. So I'm definitely effected here.

Here's latest on the hack

https://www.autonews.com/retail/cdk-global-cyberattack-hackers-want-millions-end-outage

So to hear this .

 

[WVU82]

 

[WVU82]

 

[WVU82]

 

[atlkvb]

LOL...CDK's software was sold to us as THE strongest protector against cyber hacks...supposedly due to its exclusive co-location architecture, systems redundancy, and multiple levels of coded encrypted language which (they boasted) made it virtually impossible to infiltrate. Moreover, because of its proprietary source coding, it was said to be impossible to either copy or "hack". (unless you're among those who actually helped write the software's protocols, which I personally believe some of these hackers ultimately were)

Obviously all that was straight up hogwash and several dealership ownership groups were indeed preparing Lawsuits as a result for breach of the contracts they signed when they registered their entire DMS operations through CDK. This is primarily why CDK has now agreed to pay the outrageous ransom to the hackers, rather than be tied up in court for years battling lawsuits costing them billions which they simply cannot win because they sold their software as "un-hackable"

They were also about to lose a significant portion if not all of their most lucrative contracts with some of the largest automotive groups in the country who were/are preparing to switch their operations to competitors offering DMS software such as ADP, SAP, Dealertrak, and Reynolds & Reynolds among many others.

Best Dealer Management (DMS) Systems 2024 | SoftwareReviews

Compare and evaluate Dealer Management (DMS) Systems vendors using the most in-depth and unbiased buyer reports available. Download free comprehensive 40+ page reports to select the best Dealer Management software for your organization.

www.softwarereviews.com

CDK is screwed either way. Now the hackers understand how to defeat its vaunted multi-layers of proprietary internal security, and it cannot even promise its customers that valuable personal information exposed to the hackers hasn't already been severely compromised. So even though CDK has agreed to pay the ransom, it still may face gigantic lawsuits for the security breach. It may also get hacked again by copy cats, since the information on how to defeat its self-promoted protective architecture is now out there floating around in cyberspace.


Bottom line: We need to get back to business...either using CDK or some other DMS software because we're literally losing millions of dollars of business collectively every day this drags on. Some of these dealership groups are publicly traded, and their shareholders are getting nervous as the daily losses of revenue accumulate. If there is a huge sell off of these dealership stocks, it could have rippling effects throughout the economy with manufacturing vendors, parts suppliers, & financial institutions. They'd better get us back up and running soon or plenty of folks will start getting very ornery & very angry.

 

[atlkvb]

Some on our management team are pushing for a switch of our operation to a DMS configuration offered by ADP. Here's a brief review

ADP Dealer Services: Takes Your Automotive Business Forward

Check out this recent interview with Carlos Rodriguez, President and CEO, ADP Dealer Services speaks about Takes Your Automotive Business Forward.

www.cioreview.com

...more

https://www.fi-magazine.com/311698/adp-enhances-elite-dealership-management-system

excerpt
Key components of ADP's Open API Partner Program include partner technical training and assistance, a secure test environment, and access to important time-sensitive product information through ADP's Dealer Suite Internet destination, according to James Beveridge, ADP's Open API program manager. "We have had great response to the program from the software development community across the U.S. and Canada," Beveridge said. "Elite Open API program is based on industry standards established by companies like Microsoft, IBM, and W3C, which means the architecture is truly open. For the automotive retail market this means a better way to access data.