NEW YORK (AP) — Car dealerships across North America have faced major disruptions this week.
CDK Global, a company that provides software for thousands of auto dealers in the U.S. and Canada, was hit by back-to-back cyberattacks on Wednesday. That led to an outage that continued to impact many of their operations on Friday.
For prospective car buyers, that may mean delays at dealerships or vehicle orders written up by hand, with no immediate end in sight. Here's what you need to know.
CDK Global is a major player in the auto sales industry. The company, based just outside of Chicago in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, provides software technology to dealers that helps with day-today operations — like facilitating vehicle sales, financing, insurance and repairs.
CDK serves more than 15,000 retail locations across North America, according to the company. Whether all of these locations were impacted by this week's cyberattacks was not immediately clear.
CDK is “actively investigating a cyber incident” and the company shut down all of its systems out of an abundance of caution, spokesperson Lisa Finney said Wednesday.
CDK “executed extensive testing," consulted third-party experts, and restored its core DMS and Digital Retailing solutions by the afternoon, Finney said in a prepared statement.
CDK experienced another "cyber incident” Wednesday evening, Finney said in a update the following day. “We remain vigilant in our efforts to reinstate our services and get our dealers back to business as usual as quickly as possible,” she said.
When that will be is still unknown. As of Friday morning, a recorded message from CDK on a hotline detailing updates for its customers said “we do not have an estimated time frame for resolution — and therefore our dealer systems will not be available, likely for several days.” Customer care support channels also remain unavailable, it said.
The message added that the company was aware of “bad actors” posing as members or affiliates of CDK to try to obtain system access by contacting customers. It urged employers to be cautious of any attempted phishing.
Several major auto companies — including Stellantis, Ford and BMW — confirmed to The Associated Press Friday that the CDK outage had impacted some of their dealers, but that sales operations continue.
In light of the ongoing situation, a spokesperson for Stellantis said that many dealerships had switched to manual processes to serve customers. That includes writing up orders by hand.
A Ford spokesperson said that the outage may cause “some delays and inconveniences at some dealers and for some customers.” However, many Ford and Lincoln customers are still getting sales and service support through alternative routes being used at dealerships.
With many details of the cyberattacks still unclear, customer privacy is also at top of mind — especially with little known about what information may have been compromised this week.
In a statement sent to the AP on Friday, Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the National Automobile Dealers Association said that “dealers are very committed to protecting their customer information and are actively seeking information from CDK to determine the nature and scope of the cyber incident so they can respond appropriately."
FILE - Vehicles sit in a row outside a dealership, June 2, 2024, in Lone Tree, Colo. Car dealerships across North America have faced a major disruption this week. CDK Global, a company that provides software for thousands of auto dealers in the U.S. and Canada, was hit by back-to-back cyberattacks on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan police on Thursday clashed with protesters in Nairobi before planned protests against a contentious finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building.
Protesters who said last week that they would march to the State House on Thursday say they still don't trust President William Ruto, who has said the tax hikes would be withdrawn and budget cuts would be made.
Police have hurled tear gas canisters at groups of protesters attempting to congregate within the central business district. The military has been patrolling the city despite a Wednesday court order that suspended their deployment to support police during the protests.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday urged the young protesters to call off planned protests and give dialogue a chance.
The leaderless movement began online with young people demanding that legislators reject the proposed tax hikes. It later morphed into calls for the president's resignation after the bill was passed. On Tuesday, thousands of protesters stormed Kenya's parliament, burning parts of the building and sending lawmakers fleeing. Police opened fire and at least 22 people were reportedly killed in the chaos.
Activists were divided about the agenda of Thursday's protests. One protester, Boniface Mwangi, urged others to peacefully march to parliament road where protesters were killed to pay their respects. “Invasion of the State House isn’t a solution," he wrote on X.
But Francis Gaitho, one of the many activists mobilizing for the protests online, insisted that young people should march to the State House.
Activists and others warned that the stakes were higher than in past protests, because Ruto vowed on Tuesday to quash unrest “at whatever cost".
Analyst Javas Bigambo told The Associated Press that the discontent is partly because Kenyans don't trust the president to implement the austerity measures he announced on Wednesday.
“Kenyans still have a problem with the economy and wastage in government," he said.
Bigambo said Ruto’s U-turn should be a “lesson on humility” as his initial reaction on Tuesday was “not stately and full of emotions” further agitating protesters. He said the government should win back the populace by opening dialogue channels and ensuring a consultative budgeting process.
Businesspeople in Nairobi were standing guard outside their shops on Thursday to prevent looting and vandalism, which took place during Tuesday's protests.
Major roads leading to key government buildings, including parliament, have been blocked.
Outside Nairobi, protests have been reported in Mombasa, Kisumu, Migori and other major towns.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday spoke with Ruto, thanking him for taking steps to reduce tensions.
“The Secretary underscored the importance of security forces demonstrating restraint and refraining from violence and encouraged prompt investigations into allegations of human rights abuses,” a statement read.
Ruto has been embraced by Washington as a welcome, stable partner in Africa, while frustration grows elsewhere on the continent with the U.S. and other Western powers.
In May, Ruto went to Washington in the first state visit by an African leader in 16 years. On Tuesday, as the protests erupted, the U.S. designated Kenya as its first major non-NATO ally in sub-Saharan Africa, a largely symbolic act but one highlighting their security partnership. Also Tuesday, hundreds of Kenyan police deployed to lead a multinational force against gangs in Haiti, an initiative that brought thanks from U.S. President Joe Biden.
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Nairobi county workers stand in front of the governor's office, which was burned during yesterday's protest over proposed tax hikes in a finance bill in downtown Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Thousands of protesters stormed and burned a section of Kenya's parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals. Police responded with gunfire and several protesters were killed. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenyans discuss yesteday's protest as they read newspapers from a street vendor in downtown Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Thousands of protesters stormed and burned a section of Kenya's parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals. Police responded with gunfire and several protesters were killed. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Kenyan President William Ruto gives an address at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Kenyan President William Ruto said he won't sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes a day after protesters stormed parliament and several people were shot dead. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
