Car dealerships: The new trend in cyber-attacks?

Rhys Roberts | 22/10/2025

After the wake of the CDK hack that caused disruptions for over 15,000 car dealerships, a new trend has emerged in the car dealership space.

Studies have shown that cyber-attacks on car dealerships have increased, with the impact on businesses increasing. The findings are as follows:

• 16 days average downtime due to breach

• $228,125 cost of average payout for ransomware

• 84% of customers would not buy from impacted company due to loss of trust

• 36% of data breaches due to phishing

With cyber-crime on the rise in Australia year after year, it is clear to see that having proper cyber security in place is more important than ever to reduce business risk.

For car dealerships in particular, having solid security controls and staff training to protect against phishing, ransomware and a disaster recovery plan to quickly recover from a cyber-attack is paramount to ensuring business resilience. With the rise in sophisticated phishing and MFA phishing techniques being used by threat-actors across all industries, now is the time to prepare your staff and business to prevent these attacks.

How we can help

At Stonewood Cyber we specialise in helping businesses reduce risk and protect themselves from emerging cyber threats. We use the Australian standard "The Essential 8" to help protect businesses in a cost efficient and cyber focused way.

Reach out to Stonewood Cyber now and learn how we can help your business today.