Car dealers are trusted with a wide range of customer and internal data. But harbouring this information digitally can make them a target for cybercriminals looking to gain access to their systems — “either to steal data or to hold data ransom through various malware and phishing scams,” according to David Masson, Canada Country Manager for Darktrace.
In light of Cyber Security Awareness Month, Canadian auto dealer connected with Masson, who works for a global artificial intelligence company for cyber defence, to help provide dealers with insights on what they should be aware of, and how to better protect themselves from potential cyber attacks. Having a digital presence puts dealers at risk, but how bad can the impact be? Apparently, it depends on the type of attack.
“Through attacks like phishing — sending emails that appear to be from trusted sources with the goal of gaining personal information or having them download software – cyber criminals could gain access to the company’s website, social channels or worse, precious data including financials,” said Masson.
From this point, hackers can cause serious damage to a dealer’s digital platforms. They could hold their data as ransom. They can use their financial information for fraudulent purposes. They can negatively impact a dealer’s image, their customer’s trust, the efficiency of their operations and their financials.
How can dealers protect themselves?
The full impact of a cyber attack is indeed frightening, but there are many things dealers can do to better protect themselves. According to Masson, these include:
- Ensuring operating systems, browsers and software are updated and regularly patched. Turn on your automatic updates to serve as reminders.
- Being wary of unknown email addresses and ones that appear illegitimate. “Phishing remains one of the easiest and most successful ways cyber-criminals target individuals or corporations,” says Masson.
- Restricting software, and setting up administrative rights so that nothing can be installed on company computers without authorization.
- Blocking access to restricted sites with Internet filters to help prevent employees and hackers from uploading data to storage clouds.
- Installing a firewall and software that opposes virus, spyware and phishing attacks.
- Having employees create an advanced password, and advise them to stop reusing passwords for multiple sites. “Although remembering complex passwords containing symbols and numbers can seem like a challenge, making it tempting to reuse them, getting a password manager can simplify the task,” says Masson.
Implementing these steps will help car dealers greatly reduce the risk of cyber attacks, although it does not guarantee full protection. To further improve their chance, it is recommended that they install security tools that can detect the early signs of threats, and “autonomously respond to stop attacks before they can do damage.”
“Dealers need to assume they are being targeted by advanced attackers and should be taking a proactive approach to security, looking towards innovative technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support them and their teams,” says Masson.
More information about Cyber Security Awareness Month can be found through the Public Safety Canada website.
The Government is focusing on informing Canadian companies about a range of issues related to cyber security every week throughout the month of October.
