Auto retailers and dealerships across the U.S. are facing another day off after a second cyber attack hit technology company CDK Global, which develops software used to manage auto customers and their vehicles.
In a message from CDK sent to customers on Thursday, the company said the additional cyberattack late Wednesday could lead to widespread outages.
“At this time, we do not have an estimated timeframe for resolution and therefore our dealer systems will be unavailable until at least Thursday,” the message said.
CDK said its customer support teams “remain unavailable” as a precautionary measure to maintain security.
When reached by TechCrunch, CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney confirmed the second incident and another shutdown of “most of our systems.”
“Working with third-party experts, we assess the impact and provide regular updates to our customers. We remain vigilant in our efforts to restore our services and get our dealers back in business as quickly as possible,” said Finney.
The company’s website says its software is running in about 15,000 dealerships.
News of the cyberattack broke early Wednesday as auto dealerships reported outages in CDK-operated dealer management systems that allow dealers to handle customer appointments, vehicle records and other information. Several CDK customers took to social media and Reddit to say the outage forced staff to come up with workarounds that didn’t rely on the downed software.
CDK did not describe the nature of the initial cyber attack, but said CDK shut down all its systems on Wednesday. Some CDK functions began to return on Wednesday evening, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the ongoing cyber attack. It is unclear if or how the second cyberattack is related to the first.
CDK did not respond to TechCruch’s specific questions about the incidents, including whether it is aware of any data breaches from its systems. It’s not yet clear whether the company has the ability to determine what, if any, customer data has been stolen.
Updated June 20 at 1 p.m. ET with CDK’s latest statement.
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