A cyber attack on CDK Global has paralyzed car dealerships nationwide who use the company's software to operate their businesses.

The cyberattack reportedly froze 15,000 car dealerships across the country.

WATCH:

“They were hit by ransomware" says @HackingDave after a cyberattack paralyzed 15,000 car dealerships nationwide. "It looks like they [CDK Global] will pay the ransom to recover and become operational again." $BBU pic.twitter.com/Lr70k0GRlh

— Last Call (@LastCallCNBC) June 21, 2024

“We cannot process paperwork. Everything is frozen, everything is tied up — we cannot move money back and forth to pay off cars, to finance our customers' transactions,” Tom Maioli, who owns Celebrity Motor Car Company, which operates five luxury car dealerships across New York and New Jersey, told CBS MoneyWatch, according to CBS News.

WATCH:

Thousands of car dealers are facing significant business disruptions this week due to two cyberattacks on an industry software provider.

These attacks targeted CDK Global, which supplies software to nearly 15,000 car dealerships in the United States and Canada, pic.twitter.com/MAu8QGrdCk

— Ｎｅｒｄｙ 🅰🅳🅳🅸🅲🆃 (@Nerdy_Addict) June 22, 2024

CBS News reports:

For one family in New Jersey, the outage meant they couldn't drive away with their new Audi Q5. Daniel Lanni told Bloomberg his family was expecting the vehicle to be delivered on June 19, but that it now remains unclear when they'll take possession.

“The kids were really excited,” Lanni, a 41-year-old commercial real estate broker, told Bloomberg. “They're upset and now they're just regularly asking about it.”

On Wednesday, CDK Global took down its services as a precaution, effectively bringing sales to a halt for its customers. A second cyberattack this week has compounded the problem.

CDK has indicated that the outage could last several days and has not publicly announced when it expects its services to be fully restored. The financial repercussions of the tech failure are expected to be substantial given that CDK powers sales for roughly half of the car dealerships in the U.S.

According to Reuters, a group of hackers claiming responsibility for the cyberattack “has demanded millions of dollars in ransom to put an end to the hack.”

“The group behind the attack is believed to be based in eastern Europe, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter,” Reuters stated.

"Everything Is Frozen": Third-Day Of Cyberattack Leaves 15,000 Auto Dealerships Crippled https://t.co/TThSj5Bx1f

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 21, 2024

Per Reuters:

The auto retail technology and software provider planned to pay the ransom, Bloomberg News reported.

CDK, which provides software to car dealerships, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

U.S. auto retailers Sonic Automotive (SAH.N), and Penske Automotive (PAG.N), flagged a hit to their operations on Friday, as CDK experienced a third consecutive day of outage.

In an emailed statement, Ford said that there was an industrywide system outage for dealers who use CDK.

“However, many Ford and Lincoln customers are able to receive sales and service support due to alternative processes available to our dealers,” Ford said.

Sonic said its dealerships were open and it was working to minimize the disruption. The company said it was unable to determine if the outage would affect its financial condition, but that it did have a “negative impact” on its operations.

Penske said its Premier Truck Group business, which sells new and used commercial trucks, also uses CDK's disrupted dealer management system.