Holdcroft Motor Group, an AM100 store, is making progress after a cyber attack that apparently left some of its essential systems “broken beyond repair.”
It was a ransomware attack with requests for a hefty payment.
The attack, about which Holddcroft’s staff was informed, has resulted in the loss of data from internal storage areas and “some of the data that has been compromised may contain employee personal data,” according to an investigation by Staffordshire Police and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
“This is a significant attack that should be taken extremely seriously and we are working very closely with both Staffordshire Police and the National Cyber Operational Unit to trace how this has happened,” Holdcroft told employees.
Holdcroft’s dealer management system, which contains customer data, was unaffected by the cyberattack on July 27, and operations director Chris Greenhall told the Stoke Sentinel newspaper that the company thanked all of its employees and suppliers for “working tirelessly to limit the disruption to our ongoing activities.”
“We have now managed to resolve the majority of access issues that employees have been experiencing, although some of our core systems have been damaged beyond repair or have been permanently deleted.”
Holdcroft is now cautioning employees not to use personal websites from work computers and advising them to update the passwords on any personal accounts they may have, including email, banking, and pensions.
Additionally, staff members are urged to “stay vigilant” during the ensuing weeks and report any unusual activity to the IT division of the business.
The automotive fintech company iVendi forewarned dealers in March of an increased danger of cyberattacks following the hacking of a multi-market European dealer network. The DMS company Dragon2000 identified ransomware attacks as a threat to auto shops in 2017.
News Summary:
- Police and Information Commissioner investigate Holdcroft Group hacking incident
- Check all news and articles from the latest Security news updates.
