Green Country Car Dealerships Impacted By Cyber Attacks

Massive cyber attacks have forced thousands of car dealerships across the country and world to slow down their operations and go back to using pen and paper.

Several of those impacted dealerships are here in Green Country.

The company CDK Global had to shut down its systems Wednesday and again on Thursday due to what it's calling a “cyber incident.”

For local dealers, not having access to the software impacts just about every part of their business.

“It’s everything," said Mark Allen. "Every aspect of this industry relies on a computer system, and this computer system is down.”

Mark Allen owns Mark Allen Auto Group and operates several dealerships in Green Country.

The group uses CDK Global, which provides cloud-based software for dealerships to manage things like repairs, maintenance, employee payroll, and more. It is used by more than 15,000 dealerships in North America.

“It came up briefly yesterday and went right back at 1:30 in the morning," he said. "We all, as dealers, received the notification it would be down possibly indefinitely.”

For customers, Allen said they can still buy cars but the process will be slower.

"With a hack like this, it impacted new car franchise stores, about 90 percent of them," said Elliott Sumrall with Bishops Corner Auto Sales. "But we’re an independent dealership.”

Elliott Sumrall is the sales manager at Bishops Corner Auto in Sapulpa. They don’t use CDK Global but Elliott says he still has seen the effects already.

“Trying to order parts, schedule service and recalls, we can't do that with manufacturers right now," said Sumrall. 

Both men said this is just part of being in a digital world and hope the systems get back up soon.

“The adjustment is time-consuming and at the expense of customer having to wait for us," Allen said.

Other impacted local dealerships include Jim Norton and Ferguson along with several others.

CDK Global said it's working to investigate who caused the attack and restore its systems for the dealerships.