Ransomware Attack

A ransomware attack is a type of cyber incident where malicious software encrypts a dealership’s data or systems, locking staff out of critical applications until a ransom is paid to the attackers. For dealerships, this can bring operations to a standstill – imagine not being able to access the DMS, customer records, or process transactions. Canadian dealerships have become more aware of this threat after incidents where dealer management software providers were hit, impacting many dealers at once [oai_citation:4‡theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/21/cdk-cyber-attack-cars-us-canada#:~:text=A%20cyber%20outage%20at%20a,was%20no%20end%20in%20sight) [oai_citation:5‡theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/21/cdk-cyber-attack-cars-us-canada#:~:text=CDK%2C%20which%20provides%20different%20kinds,estimated%20time%20frame%20for%20resolution%E2%80%9D). To guard against ransomware, dealerships use measures like regular data backups, up-to-date antivirus software, network segmentation, and employee training to avoid phishing (a common entry point for ransomware). Having an incident response plan is crucial: if hit, a dealership should contact cybersecurity experts and law enforcement. Paying a ransom is risky and generally discouraged, as there’s no guarantee of data return and it could fund criminal activity; instead, a well-prepared dealer can restore data from backups and strengthen systems after an attack.