BILLINGS — A hacking group executed consecutive ransomware attacks on CDK Global last Wednesday, a company that offers data and technology services to various industries including automotive, heavy truck, recreation, and heavy equipment.
Lithia Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Billings is among the 15,000 dealerships nationwide affected by this attack. They are finding creative solutions to continue operations.
“I know there are some dealers that shut down initially, thinking this will be a day or two thing,” said Nolan Fisher, the general manager of Lithia Dodge on Wednesday.
This ransomware attack has significantly impacted almost every aspect of Lithia’s daily operations.
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“This is a system that allows us to get from A to Z in whatever department you’re working with, whether it’s sales, service, parts as quickly and efficiently as possible.” Fisher said.
Billings Tech Guys founder Dylan Solberg mentioned the severity of the situation.
“Black Suit, a hacking group, hit them with a ransomware. And what a ransomware does is it basically shuts their business down so they can’t access files, their systems, anything,” said Solberg.
“We found ways to do business instead of finding ways not to…Every department’s kind of had to go to an archaic, essentially handwritten processes in a lot of ways,” Fisher said.
Nolan mentioned they’ve had to reassign staff to different roles.
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“We’ve had to leverage different parts of our staff to do different jobs, whether it’s the office staff helping fill out these logs and the accounting team ensuring that what we’re reporting is accurate,” said Fisher.
So far, Fisher mentioned customers have been understanding, even though there’s a delay in the car-buying process.
“For the most part, it’s a little bit longer, but not terrible. I think we’re pretty upfront of, “Hey, this is what’s going on. You’ve probably seen. There are some things we’re doing that are a little slower,” Fisher added.
It’s uncertain when the issues will be resolved. Solberg stated that CDK might have to pay a substantial amount to Black Suit to regain control.
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“CDK is a cyber security company so you’d think they’d have these protections in place, but again they’re a big target because all of the customers they have,” said Solberg.
The repercussions are anticipated to persist for years.
“People are just having to do a little bit more, but for the most part, my team has been wonderful in saying hey, we’ll figure it out,” Fisher said.
Solberg mentioned that hackers have been focusing on local businesses too. For more on preventing cyber security attacks, visit the Billlings Tech Guys website.
