The magazine spoke with Helion’s President & Founder about dealership IT at the recent NADA Show in Las Vegas.
Despite frequent cyber attacks and widespread data privacy legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), some dealerships are still reluctant to invest in updating their IT ecosystems.
Automotive News reporter Lindsay VanHulle spoke with Erik Nachbahr about why these dealerships don’t take action, and what they’re risking. “They’ve got just a million different expenses coming at them, and they don’t really understand the technology,” Nachbahr explains.
According to Nachbar, updating systems to align with dealership IT best practices is what sets successful dealerships apart from those who will be forced to close their doors due to cyber attacks.
“That’s what the progressive dealers, the ones that are growing, are thinking about,” he says. “The ones that are smaller are like, ‘How do we hang on?’ And they’re going to get taken out by these cyber attacks.”
Dealerships that fall behind on IT security also risk violating the law. Nachbahr says of the CCPA, “You need to pay attention to it and do a gap analysis to really understand where your holes are. And then you have to invest in protecting yourself.”