Your next new car is likely to be loaded with all sorts of digital technology – and the software to run it. And that means it may know “a lot about you.” And how that information is used has raised growing privacy concerns. That’s why the U.S. Commerce Dept. may impose restrictions on the use of software coming from China.
Things are back to normal at 15,000 U.S. showrooms after a hack that brought operations nearly to a halt last month. Data processing firm CDK apparently paid a $25 million ransom to regain control of software controlling everything from sales prospects to payroll. But the damage has topped $1 billion in lost sales and other issues.
As many as 15,000 auto dealers across the United States and Canada are largely unable to operate as a result of a series of cyberattacks on CDK, a major data provider that runs the software used for everything from negotiating sales to scheduling service. It’s unclear what’s behind the attack – or when CDK will be back up and running.