Some Steinbach auto dealerships going old school due to alleged cyberattack

Several automobile dealerships in Steinbach are impacted by an alleged cyberattack.

John Verret is the General Manager at Fairway Ford. He says their software provider CDK Global was hacked at least twice this week. Verret notes about 15,000 dealerships across North America use this dealer management system.

According to Verret, the system is used for everything from accounting and sales to their parts and service departments and body shop. 

“It’s really a universal program that’s used on so many different facets,” adds Verret. 

But he says this has not stopped them from taking care of their customers. Verret notes it is business as usual, only, in a different way. 

“We are doing things the old-fashioned way,” adds Verret. “The old pen and paper.”

He says some of their younger staff have not been around long enough to know how things used to be done. And Verret credits their veterans for stepping up.

“It’s like a hockey team,” he says. “The leaders are in the room right now rallying the rookies so to speak.”

Verret says a big thank you to their customers and notes the dealership will work to keep things as normal as possible. 

Ledingham is another dealership in Steinbach that uses CDK Global. Kent Ledingham says they have been using the system for 20 years and have never had a problem like this before. 

“It’s been a new experience for us all,” he says. “It’s always been a very stable and good system.”

Ledingham says he has not yet heard confirmation as to whether the system was actually hacked or if it was simply taken down as a precaution. Nonetheless, they too are going old school.

“We’re kind of back to the old-fashioned way of trying to write everything down with a paper and pencil and keep track of things that way,” he adds. “It inhibits our ability to bill out or create invoices, and also search for parts. So, we’re really back to 1980 again.”

And though his dealership is still open, Ledingham says they are definitely not operating at 100 per cent. 

“We’re 50 to 75 per cent,” he says. 

Ledingham says for any of their customers who have an appointment booked for next week, it might be a good idea to connect with their service advisor. He notes they might try to reschedule some appointments where possible. 

One other dealership in Steinbach that is dealing with this impact, is Highway Mazda. 

“The whole A to Z,” says Sales Manager Jack Neufeld, when asked what areas of the business this is influencing. 

“We’ve gone old school,” he says. “More paper, more writing things instead of anything computer. It’s been a bit of a slower process. We’re still operating obviously, but it’s been challenging at times to say the least.”

Neufeld says he has heard nothing definitive but notes this could take several weeks to resolve. His message to customers is to keep coming down.

“We’re going to look after you,” says Neufeld. “Patience is a virtue these days.”

With files from Corny Rempel