Summary:
On June 18th, CDK Global, a leading software-as-a-service provider that is used by over 15,000 car dealerships across North America, was the target of a ransomware attack, causing a massive IT outage. In particular, CDK Global’s dealer management system was impacted, forcing car dealerships to switch to pen and paper, with buyers unable to purchase cars or receive service for already-bought vehicles. While trying to restore its service, CDK suffered from a second cyberattack a day later, which forced the company to take down all of its IT systems and login systems again. In an update, a CDK spokesperson told BleepingComputer that they are “continuing their phased approach to the restoration process and are rapidly bringing dealers live on the Dealer Management System (DMS).” CDK anticipates that all dealer connections with be live by late Wednesday, July 3 or early morning Thursday, July 4.


Security Officer Comments:
Although CDK Global has yet to attribute the attack to a particular threat group, some sources note that the BlackSuit ransomware gang was behind this latest incident. BlackSuit surfaced last year in May and is believed to be a rebrand of the notorious Royal ransomware operation that has managed to target 350 organizations worldwide since September 2022. In a joint advisory published by the FBI in coordination with CISA in November 2023, the agencies noted that Royal and BlackSuit share similar tactics with their encryptors further showing various code overlaps. To access the full advisory, please defer to the link below:

https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-061a

Suggested Corrections:
Backup your data, system images, and configurations, regularly test them, and keep the backups offline: Ensure that backups are regularly tested and that they are not connected to the business network, as many ransomware variants try to find and encrypt or delete accessible backups. Maintaining current backups offline is critical because if your network data is encrypted with ransomware, your organization can restore systems.

Update and patch systems promptly: This includes maintaining the security of operating systems, applications, and firmware in a timely manner. Consider using a centralized patch management system; use a risk-based assessment strategy to drive your patch management program.

Test your incident response plan: There's nothing that shows the gaps in plans more than testing them. Run through some core questions and use those to build an incident response plan: Are you able to sustain business operations without access to certain systems? For how long? Would you turn off your manufacturing operations if business systems such as billing were offline?

Check Your Security Team's Work: Use a 3rd party pen tester to test the security of your systems and your ability to defend against a sophisticated attack. Many ransomware criminals are aggressive and sophisticated and will find the equivalent of unlocked doors.

Segment your networks: There's been a recent shift in ransomware attacks – from stealing data to disrupting operations. It's critically important that your corporate business functions and manufacturing/production operations are separated and that you carefully filter and limit internet access to operational networks, identify links between these networks and develop workarounds or manual controls to ensure ICS networks can be isolated and continue operating if your corporate network is compromised. Regularly test contingency plans such as manual controls so that safety critical functions can be maintained during a cyber incident.

Train employees: Email remains the most vulnerable attack vector for organizations. Users should be trained how to avoid and spot phishing emails. Multi Factor authentication can help prevent malicious access to sensitive services.

Link(s):
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...-all-dealers-will-be-back-online-by-thursday/