Auto dealerships are embracing artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, automate workflows, and enhance customer service — but a new report from Automotive News warns that AI adoption is also creating serious new cybersecurity risks for dealerships.
The article highlights how AI-powered tools are now being used across dealership operations, including finance and insurance, customer communications, and service departments. While these technologies can streamline operations, they also create new attack surfaces that cybercriminals are aggressively targeting. According to CrowdStrike's 2026 Global Threat Report, AI-driven cyberattacks surged 89% in 2025, while 1 in 5 franchised dealerships experienced some form of cyberattack last year.
One of the biggest concerns discussed in the article is how attackers are leveraging AI to supercharge traditional phishing and ransomware attacks. Helion Technologies President Erik Nachbahr explained that AI is dramatically improving the quality and sophistication of phishing emails targeting dealerships. "The attackers are using AI to create very targeted and very good-looking emails," Nachbahr said. "Gone are the days of misspellings and weird grammar."
The article also warns that dealerships are introducing additional risk internally as employees increasingly use tools like ChatGPT without proper safeguards or cybersecurity policies in place. Nachbahr cautioned that dealership employees are sometimes pasting sensitive customer financial information into AI tools to verify or process data, potentially exposing highly sensitive information.
The overarching message is clear: while AI offers major operational advantages for dealerships, it also requires a far more mature cybersecurity strategy. As AI-driven attacks become faster, more convincing, and more automated, dealerships can no longer rely on outdated cybersecurity practices or assume their current defenses are sufficient.
