CDK Global faces days-long software outage resolution

Retail software provider CDK Global announced that it will likely take several days to fully restore its software systems following a significant outage that has impacted nearly 15,000 car dealerships across North America since Wednesday.

On Saturday, the company reported progress in bringing its systems back online. “We anticipate that the process will take several days to complete,” a CDK spokesperson told CNN, adding that they are actively engaging with customers to provide alternative solutions in the meantime.

The outage resulted from two cyber incidents, which have left CDK’s systems inoperative. The company has not disclosed the source of the incidents. Bloomberg reported that an Eastern European hacker group demanded a ransom of tens of millions of dollars to end the disruption, but CDK has not commented on this report.

Many car manufacturers and dealerships have implemented temporary measures to continue operations. CDK has advised dealership employees to be vigilant against phishing scams and to secure sensitive information like passwords.

Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the National Automobile Dealers Association, expressed concerns about the impact on dealership operations. “Thousands of franchised new-car dealerships rely on CDK to run their businesses, and this outage has impacted dealers’ ability to provide a seamless customer experience and process transactions efficiently,” he said.

The system shutdown could slow business operations and cause shipping delays during the busy summer season. In 2023, dealership sales in the United States exceeded $1.2 trillion, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Ford has been working with dealers to set up alternative software systems and workarounds, emphasizing that the impact of the outage varies by dealer. Some dealerships on the East Coast reported processing sales manually and experiencing difficulties with car registration.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Penske Automotive stated that while its auto dealers do not use CDK Global, its Premier Trucking Group division does, and they are implementing response plans. Sonic Automotive also noted it was operational but using workaround solutions to mitigate the disruption caused by the CDK outage.

Premier Truck Group did not provide details on its response plans, and Sonic did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.