CDK Ransomware Attack: What It Is and How to Protect Your Business

Software platforms are being used more and more by companies to run their operations, store private data, and talk to customers. Ransomware attacks are becoming more common because people depend on them so much. One of the scariest types of hacks is the CDK ransomware attack, which is aimed at companies that use software from CDK Global.

CDK Global is a well-known company that provides technology solutions for the car industry. Its software has become a popular target for hackers who want to take advantage of system weaknesses. Ransomware attacks can lock important business data, making it impossible to access until a ransom is paid, which is usually done in cryptocurrency. These attacks can stop a business from running normally, which can cost money and hurt the company's image.

Ransomware threats increased by 105% in 2022, making it a major problem for companies all over the world. It's estimated that ransomware attacks will cost $265 billion a year by 2031. One attack happens every 11 seconds.

Facts:

• CDK Global is one of the biggest names in software systems for selling cars.
• Dealerships and other businesses that use CDK software have been hit by ransomware threats.
• When ransomware attacks happen, they can cost a lot of money, stop operations, and hurt your image.

A CDK ransomware attack usually starts with getting into a company's network through phishing emails or software bugs that haven't been fixed. Once it gets inside, malware quickly locks up files and demands money to unlock them. Because they deal with so much customer and cash information, automotive businesses are especially at risk. Businesses can, however, take steps to protect themselves from these threats.

Companies can lower their risks by putting in place a strong cybersecurity system that includes regular software updates, data encryption, and a well-thought-out plan for how to respond to ransomware. Having secure backups stored offsite and testing incident recovery plans on a daily basis are also important parts of defense. As malware changes, it's important to stay ahead of the threat to keep your business safe.

The CDK cyberattack is a terrible event that will have a lot of effects. Because of this breach, the accounting offices of dealerships that were affected will have to carefully put together financial records from different departments, such as sales, service, and parts. The goal is to get things back in some kind of financial order, which could take months.

ADP Dealer Services was the company that started CDK Global. It later joined with Cobalt and became a part of CDK Global with the help of private equity investments. Information Security (Infosec) is often one of the "cost centers" that private equity companies cut when they take over. Because of this oversight, the shields against hackers are not strong enough. As a result, a ransomware attack shows important problems like backups that haven't been tried and old disaster recovery plans.

After the attack, a computer expert pointed out a number of issues:

Backups that aren't there or are out of date.

• Not being able to recover backups.
• Outdated or non-existent plans for dealing with disasters.
• There are many single points of failure.
• Not being aware of how bad the deal is.

It's clear that people are angry about how badly private equity has handled ADP Dealer Services. The real victims are the people who work at the store and have to keep serving customers and making money even though things are crazy.

According to new rumors, CDK ransomware attack will pay the ransom of tens of millions of dollars. A short movie shows how ransomware attacks work, which makes it seem like this won't be the last time something like this happens.

Businesses that want to be dealers often use "Preferred Vendor" schemes, which cost vendors money to join and pay for. Some people say that this program favors bigger sellers and stops smaller ones from coming up with new ideas. Most of the time, preferred suppliers charge more, and their quality might not be better than that of non-preferred vendors. Many times, dealers choose preferred vendors because of marketing claims that their products are of better quality or because manufacturers' co-op programs offer financial incentives.

For a long time, CDK has used old software, which is a problem that often happens when private equity firms buy old systems. Cutting costs comes at the cost of innovation, leaving systems open to attack. A mature DMS provider should be able to get back to normal business tasks within 24 hours of a major failure. Instead, CDK didn't have backups, redundancy, or safe databases, which put 15,000 sites at risk.

The Damage

There are many effects of the CDK ransomware attack that are still being felt. CBS says that the attack could cause about 100,000 fewer cars to be sold in June. If you compare this to the same time in 2023, it shows a big drop of over 7%. Many retailers don't know what will happen next because CDK Global hasn't promised that their systems will be up and running by the end of the month. It's likely that this will have a big effect on CDK's image in the auto industry, which could hurt its relationships with both dealers and manufacturers. A class action lawsuit has also been started against CDK, saying they did not protect private information, which is an important part of their business.

The BlackSuit ransomware gang is thought to be behind the attack. This group has recently been in the news for its violent behavior. U.S. News says that this group has broken into more than 95 organizations around the world. Many of the attacks have been on American organizations, including the city of Dallas, Texas. It is thought that the BlackSuit gang is a new name for the "Royal Ransomware" operation. Recently, they also launched a ransomware attack on KADOKAWA, a large Japanese media group that controls a number of well-known media companies, such as From Software, the company that made Elden Ring, which was named the 2022 Game of the Year.

The severity of this event is a stark warning of how terrible sophisticated ransomware attacks can be. It shows how important it is for businesses to be ready to deal with these kinds of threats. It's not possible to totally get rid of the risk of ransomware, but businesses can take a number of proactive steps to make themselves less vulnerable and better prepared for an attack if it does happen.

Plan for Handling an Incident

It is very important to make and stick to a strong incident reaction plan. This plan should be especially made to deal with ransomware attacks and include clear steps for how to respond and let people know about the attack. When you write down your plan, everyone involved knows what they need to do in case of a CDK ransomware attack. It's also a good idea to keep a hard copy of the plan handy, since digital records could be lost during an attack.

Backing up data

One of the most basic ways to keep your data safe is to keep protected, offline backups of your most important files. It is important to try these backups on a regular basis to make sure they work and can be accessed when needed. This makes sure that if there is an attack, the data can be recovered without having to pay the fee.

Steps to Take to Prevent

Regular vulnerability scans should be used by organizations to find and fix any possible flaws in their systems. Another important step is to make sure that all of your software has the latest fixes installed. Ransomware can easily infect old software. Also, private services like Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) should not be accessible from the outside to keep attackers from getting to them.

Settings for security

For overall protection, all devices must be properly set up, whether they are on-premises, in the cloud, mobile, or personal. Making sure that these devices have the right security settings and features can help keep people from getting in without permission and lower the chance that an attack will work.

For more information on how to stop ransomware, check out the tools that CISA has made available. Companies also suggest doing regular tests to see how ready you are for ransomware or other similar threats. These kinds of tests help find possible weak spots and make sure that a business is ready for a ransomware attack if it happens. An organization's ability to fight against and recover from these kinds of cyber threats can be greatly improved by regularly testing and getting ready.

Businesses are facing a bigger risk of CDK ransomware attacks as they depend more on CDK Global's software. Attacks like these take advantage of weak spots in systems, lock important data, and demand that you pay a ransom. The effects can be very bad, causing problems, losing money, and hurting your image. Strong cybersecurity means are needed to protect your business. You should keep your software up to date, encrypt your data securely, and have a solid plan for what to do after an incident. Safe backups stored off-site and frequent threat assessments are also very important. With full safety, you can stay ahead of threats that are always changing. Join forces with SafeAeon right now for better security.

1. What part does encrypting data play in stopping ransomware attacks?

Companies that encrypt data can make it harder for ransomware to make the data useless or useful to attackers. Encryption makes sure that even if an attacker gets into the system, they can't read the stolen data without the right decoding keys. This adds an extra layer of security against data leaks during a CDK ransomware attack.

2. After a CDK ransomware attack, should businesses pay the bill?

Some businesses might think about paying the ransom, but most safety experts say they shouldn't. Paying doesn't ensure that the data will be recovered, and it may even lead to more attacks. Instead, companies should focus on their incident recovery steps, which include getting data back from backups, analyzing the ransomware threat, and making security stronger to stop future hacks.

3. If you get hit by CDK ransomware, how long does it take to get back to normal?

How long it takes to get back to normal after a CDK ransomware attack depends on how bad the attack was, how well the incident recovery steps worked, and how many safe backups were available. It can take anywhere from days to weeks to fully recover, based on how complicated the system is and how many resources are available to stop the attack.

4. How important is a plan for how to handle a ransomware attack?

To keep downtime to a minimum and damage from a ransomware attack to a minimum, you need a CDK attack reaction plan. Businesses can quickly stop the attack, get their data back, and get back to work with little trouble if they have a thorough reaction plan.