Car Dealer Cybersecurity
Fraud & cybersecurity for dealerships: Identity verification, endpoint security, backup, monitoring and incident readiness.
Dealerships are financial institutions under the FTC Safeguards Rule, which became mandatory for them in June 2023. A store that arranges financing must keep a written information security program, name a qualified individual to run it, carry out written risk assessments, use multi-factor authentication for anyone reaching customer information (including vendors), encrypt customer data and keep an incident response plan.
How to choose car dealer cybersecurity
A security product should be evaluated against that list, not against a generic feature sheet. Ask who the qualified individual is.
Ask how the program is tested each year. Keep the written program and the latest test results on file.
Update it when staff change.
Related searches: dealer cybersecurity · fraud prevention · Safeguards Rule technology
What to check before you buy
The June 2024 ransomware attack on CDK Global showed the other half of the problem. It disrupted dealerships across North America for weeks.
Much of a store's risk sits inside its vendors. Look at how a product behaves when a vendor is down, and what the store can still do, where its data is backed up, and whether a DMS outage plan has ever been exercised.
For identity and fraud tools, ask what is checked: driver's license, identity, red-flag rules, deal-jacket verification. Ask for the false-positive rate on real deals.
Find out how a customer who is wrongly flagged gets through. Require the vendor's own security attestations.
Ask who in the store is named to receive its incident notices. Judge endpoint tools by their remote-access controls.
Remote access weaknesses are how many dealership intrusions start. Read the policy.
Test the backup.
| Workflow group | Risk & infrastructure |
|---|---|
| Companies mapped | 23 |
| Product records mapped | 2 |
| Verified profiles | 2 |
Questions to put to every car dealer cybersecurity vendor
- What is the initial and renewal term?
- What are implementation and offboarding fees?
- What data, hardware or OEM dependencies apply?
Car Dealer Cybersecurity companies
Alphabetical; not ranked. Read the evidence methodology →
700Credit
Automotive credit, compliance and identity platform.
Acronis
General-purpose backup, endpoint security and IT automation platform. Not automotive-specific; relevant to dealer IT and continuity…
Arctic Wolf
Managed security operations provider combining automated detection with human analysts. Not automotive-specific; relevant to dealer IT…
Aura Identity Guard
Consumer digital safety subscription covering identity theft protection, credit monitoring, dark web monitoring and VPN. Not…
Cisco Meraki
Cloud-managed networking and security platform: routers, switches, wireless access points and security appliances run from one…
ComplyAuto
Compliance software for automotive dealers. The homepage did not state which compliance areas are covered at…
ComplyNet
Dealer compliance management, training and audit support.
CrowdStrike
Endpoint, cloud, identity and data security platform. Not automotive-specific.
Darktrace
Behavioural cybersecurity platform. Not automotive-specific.
ECAM
Commercial video security provider formed from Stealth Monitoring and ECAMSECURE, offering live video monitoring, mobile surveillance…
Ekata
Digital identity verification and fraud prevention. The Ekata brand no longer resolves independently; it is published…
EyeQ Monitoring
Atlanta-based live video monitoring with Virtual Guard, Virtual Service Advisor and EyeQ Intelligence, including dealership key…
Fortinet
Network and endpoint cybersecurity products and services. Not automotive-specific.
Helion Technologies
Dealer-focused managed IT and cybersecurity provider.
Huntress
Managed detection and response security platform with a monitored security operations centre. Not automotive-specific.
KnowBe4
Security awareness training, phishing simulation and email security platform aimed at reducing human risk. Not automotive-specific;…
Mosaic Compliance Services
Dealership regulatory compliance and training services.
Palo Alto Networks
Enterprise cybersecurity vendor covering network security, cloud workload protection, zero trust and threat intelligence. Not automotive-specific.
Rubrik
Data security and backup platform providing immutable backups, ransomware recovery and identity recovery. Not automotive-specific; relevant…
SentinelOne
Endpoint, cloud and identity security platform with extended detection and response. Not automotive-specific.
Sift AI
Fraud-prevention platform for digital businesses, applicable to payment fraud and account-takeover risk on digital automotive transactions.
Sophos
Managed cybersecurity provider covering endpoint protection, detection and response, network security and identity security. Not automotive-specific.
Veeam
Data backup, recovery and resilience platform covering on-premises, cloud and SaaS workloads. Not automotive-specific.
Understand the decision before comparing providers
What should a dealer ask before signing a software contract?
Before signing a software contract, a dealer should confirm the exact products, implementation, service levels, data…
Read the answer →Vendor security reviewWhat security questions should dealerships ask software vendors?
Ask about governance, independent assessments, access control, encryption, logging, vulnerability management, incident response, resilience, data retention,…
Read the answer →Vendor acquisition diligenceWhat should dealers do when a software vendor is acquired or rebranded?
When a software vendor is acquired or rebranded, a dealership should confirm the legal contracting entity,…
Read the answer →Safeguards RuleWhat is the FTC Safeguards Rule for dealerships?
Because dealerships arrange financing and leasing, they are treated as financial institutions under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act…
Read the answer →Vendor security assuranceWhat is a SOC 2 report and does a dealership software vendor need one?
A SOC 2 is an independent auditor's report on how a service organisation controls security and…
Read the answer →Technology auditWhat is a dealership technology audit?
A dealership technology audit is a structured inventory of what the store pays for, what each…
Read the answer →