Car dealerships' system outage across the US and Canada is unlikely to be resolved before June 30, computer data provider CDK Global warned its customers.
In a customer update via Automotive News, the company is recommending affected car dealers to "make alternate plans for your month-end financial close process" following the ransomware attack that disrupted its services for over a week now.
(Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The advisory follows after the company warned that system restoration would likely take "several days" as it grapples to recover stolen corporate and customer data from hacking group BlackSuit.
The cybercrime gang, which extorted at least 350 victims since 2022, is reportedly demanding tens of millions of dollars to stop its cyberattacks across the 15,000 car dealers in North America.
As of writing, the system provider has only started restoring services to a "small initial test group" as the company makes "significant progress" to revive all of its dealership management systems.
Also Read: Restoring Car Dealers' Computer Systems from Ransomware Attack to Take 'Several Days
CDK Global Cyberattack to Significantly Impact Summer Car Sales
Financial experts warned that the service disruption on CDK Global is sure to have a "significant" impact on this month's car sales as the industry is supposed to enter its peak summer season.
J.D. Power and GlobalData have already brought down their estimated light-vehicle sales in the US from 1.41 million to 1.27 million following reports of the cyberattack last week.
Financial analysts expect that the auto industry to not rebound until the end of July as soon as the strong US car retail market catches up with the affected car dealerships.
CDK Global provides its services to five of the six top public dealerships in the US, including Group 1 Automotive, Lithia Motors, Asbury Automotive Group, AutoNation, and Sonic Automotive.
Related Article: Over 15,000 Car Dealers Suffer Computer Outages in US, Canada
Car Retail Operations Still Continue
While most computer and digital car sales, including customer service and repair schedules, have been delayed, customers can still purchase from car retailers through their physical stores.
CDK Global's rivaling companies have also started offering alternative means to affected car dealerships to continue critical online services.
As of writing, more car dealers have slowly resumed regular operations days after alerting customers of an operation slowdown due to the cyberattack.
