Cybersecurity attack leaves car dealerships struggling

Tanner DeLeon/ KFOR
·2 min read

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Those who need parts for their vehicle may not be able to order them anytime soon, following a recent cyber attack on dealerships.

The attack affected a computer program which is used by dealerships around the country.

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George Smith, News 4’s floor director, went to Bob Howard Parts Distribution Center to get a part for his car, only to find out they couldn’t do much to help because their system was down and with no timeline on when it would be back up and running.

“They couldn’t pull up anything because their computer system was down that whole morning,” Smith said.

After a blown tire which caused damage to his inner fender, Smith went where he always goes to get a new part, only to find out he would have to wait.

“And they say, you can come back and try to get it in, replace or whatever,” Smith said. “I come back the next day to try to get it replaced and it was still down.”

It can all be traced back to a cybersecurity attack on CDK Global, a software company used by thousands of car dealerships and auto part stores around the country.

With the software down, dealerships like Bob Howard are at a standstill.

“They can only look up stuff inside the building that they had, and that was far as they could go,” Smith said. “They couldn’t tell you if they could get to a part in or couldn’t get it out. If you had to order, you had to wait until they got their system back on line.”

CDK spokesperson Lisa Finney sent out a statement saying:

“With the work done so far, our core DMS and Digital Retailing solutions have been restored. We are continuing to conduct extensive tests on all other applications, and we will provide updates as we bring those applications back online.”

Customers like Smith, who rely on Bob Howard for their parts, hope to see everything back up and running soon.

“They’re good people, I depend on them,” Smith said. “I get parts from them all the time and hopefully they get it taken care of.”

News 4 went to Bob Howard Parts Distribution Center for an update, but they declined to comment.

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