Australia’s largest car dealer group targeted by cyber attack

Eagers Automotive, Australia’s biggest automotive dealer group, has been affected by a cyber attack this week.

As reported by GoAutoNews Premium, some of the dealer group’s IT systems appear to have been compromised by a cyber attack that affects both its Australian and New Zealand operations.

Eagers told the publication said the issue was “restricting its ability to trade within certain parts of its business in some operating locations”.

As a result, the company has warned its customers and associates to be wary of any suspicious activities in any of their IT interactions with the group.

Speaking with The Australian, an Eagers Automotive spokesperson said: “The company is investigating rapidly and, to this point, has not found any access to or misuse of customer or employee information.

“As part of our cyber security protocols, external incident response experts have been appointed to support the ongoing investigation and response.

“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.

“At this stage, customers do not need to do anything but we ask them to remain vigilant of any suspicious activity.”

The company’s shares have been placed in a trading halt by the ASX while the cyber attack is investigated. GoAutoNews Premium says this incident coincides with Eagers attempting to enhance its cybersecurity and future-proof its digital business.

It has only been a matter of weeks since Nissan Australia also fell victim to a cyber security breach, which also severely affected its Nissan Financial Services partner firm.

The Japanese brand’s local division had several head office functions compromised including its emailing system, and was busily investigating whether customers’s personal information had been accessed during the breach.