“Phishing attacks are one of the most common and damaging ways for hackers to access your systems,” Mr. Nachbahr explains. “Your employees should be the frontline defense against attack – your ‘human firewall’. Ongoing employee training, education, and support allows them to recognize social engineering attacks and thwart costly episodes before they begin.” Preventative measures include: • Web filters and controls that restrict access to phishing links • Multi-factor authorizations for wire transactions • Limits on payment amounts that a single employee can authorize • Cloud backup for restoration following a malicious software attack • Intrusion detection software to identify suspicious network activity Synthetic identity fraud is another risk to dealers today. Imposters use fake information to create fictitious identities, combining stolen identity information to create new credit files. These new synthetic identities allow criminals to qualify for a loan to buy vehicles, putting dealerships at risk for losses. Background checks verifying customer identity offer the best protection. When cyber fraud does penetrate a dealership, speed is the key to mitigating its impact – the faster an attack in progress can be detected and stopped, the less its damage. Quick detection and speedy remediation deploys an entire set of technologies, processes, and expertise – including digital forensics, threat hunting, malware reverse engineering, and technical surveillance countermeasures – that most dealers don’t have. Mr. Nachbahr explains, “Dealers need a Security Operation Center (SOC) to monitor the network 24/7/365 looking for signs of malicious behavior. Tools like advanced endpoint threat protection and security information event management (SIEM) allow security professionals to sift through and correlate data and identify suspicious patterns of behavior so they can shut down the attack early and limit damage to the dealer.” “Dealers are quickly recognizing the need for a SOC, but security professionals with the training and certification to run the centers are hard to find. Most dealers are turning to outsourcing to protect their business.” Cyber Liability Insurance Cyber liability insurance protects your dealership when cybercrime happens. “Many dealers don’t think cybercrime will happen to them and are not prepared when it does,” explains J. Travis Johnson, Auto Dealer Practice Leader at McGriff Insurance, a subsidiary of Truist Insurance Holdings, Inc. “Due to their systems and transaction levels, dealers are one of the many low-hanging fruits for cybercriminals. While some OEMs do require cyber liability insurance, dealers who aren’t required to purchase policies typically don’t think the premium money spent is worth it. Not realizing the overall benefit of a cyber liability policy is relatively inexpensive when compared to the damage a cyberattack can cause.” Dealerships interested in cyber insurance policies undergo an extensive cyber risk review that rates them on existing cybersecurity vulnerabilities and defenses in place. Your level of cybersecurity preparation determines your premiums. Some of the coverages include the cost of identifying where the attack came from, making ransom payments, paying rewards for informants, repairing or replacing computer hardware, and potential court costs. If an attack happens, most insurance carriers offer a 24/7 on-call teams to advise you on next steps and help you get the problem resolved as quickly as possible so you can get up and running again. Continued from page 21 Phishing and social engineering attacks scam employees into believing an email is from a reputable company or dealership employee. The recipient then reveals sensitive information, passwords, and credit card or account numbers. Phishing emails can appear to be from the dealership owner, ordering large sums to be wired to external accounts, which then vanish moments after the transfer. Phishing emails entice unsuspecting employees to download innocent looking files or click on malicious links and infect computers with spyware, viruses, or ransomware. 22 Automobile Dealer News illinoisdealers.com
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