Thousands of car dealers crippled by 2-day cyberattack

Auto retailers across the U.S. suffered a second major disruption in as many days due to another cyberattack at CDK Global, the software provider thousands of dealers rely on to run their stores.

CDK informed customers Thursday of the incident that occurred late the prior evening. The company shut down most of its systems again, saying in a recorded update that it doesn’t have an estimate for how long it will take to restore services.

“Our dealers’ systems will not be available at a minimum on Thursday,” the company said.

On what otherwise would have been a busy U.S. holiday for business, dealers reliant on CDK were unable to use its systems to complete transactions, access customer records, schedule appointments or handle car-repair orders. The company serves almost 15,000 dealerships, supporting front-office salespeople, back-office support staff and parts-and-service shops.