Australia’s Largest Auto Dealer Group Hit By Massive Cyberattack

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Eagers Automotive, the biggest auto dealer group in Australia, is warning customers to stay on guard after it was hit by a cyberattack. The intrusion has compromised its IT systems in both Australia and New Zealand.

The company said that the attack has led to outages that are restricting its ability to trade in both countries. Eagers, which owns more than 300 dealerships across every Australian state and territory, announced the attack on December 27.

It says that there is no immediate action for its customers to take at this time, but asked them to stay vigilant and to be on the lookout for suspicious activity. It has hired a third-party cybersecurity expert to support it in its investigation.

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“Maintaining the security and privacy of our customers’ data and our employees’ data is our highest priority, and all efforts of the business are now focused on safely restoring our systems,” the company said in a statement to The Australian. “To this point, [Eagers] has not found any access to or misuse of customer or employee information.”

The cybersecurity breach comes just months after Eagers Automotive announced that it would be upgrading its defenses in order to future-proof its digital business. It was also in the process of improving its cloud capabilities in order to facilitate governance across its vast empire of dealerships.

The company’s size is precisely what may have made it an attractive target for hackers, reports GoAutoNews. Cyber criminals are attracted to businesses with large amounts of data, where big sums of money are traded, making large dealer groups particularly interesting. Reports indicate that one Australian car buyer was recently swindled out of more than $100,000 after falling victim to a phishing scam.

Trading of Eagers Automotive shares was halted while the company deals with the cyberattack and determines how much damage was done.