It’s not a surprise anymore.
For Mark Rodbert, CEO of Idax Software, the automotive sector is basically an open field waiting for someone to trample it.
He called it “an industry under attack”.
Business as usual.
The phrase feels heavier every year, especially here. Why? The money is good, and the defenses are sloppy.
Two main problems drive this trend.
People leave, access stays
High staff turnover kills security.
People quit.
People move on.
But their login permissions?
They often linger.
Like a ghost in the machine, former employees retain access long after their badges have been deactivated. It’s a weak spot, plain and simple. Criminals exploit this lag between exit and deletion every chance they get.
Dealers are fat targets
Dealerships handle a massive volume of finance apps.
Think about it.
Credit cards, social security numbers, bank details. It’s a gold mine of customer data. Ransomware gangs see those databases and see payday. They don’t care about the cars, really. They care about the leverage.
“The number of finance applications… [are] obvious targets.”
It’s not rocket science. It’s just negligence mixed with greed.
The auto industry thought it could sleep on this.
Maybe they still are.
