Todd Sprinkle, Sarah Hutchins, and Hunter Snowden wrote an article in the National Association of Dealer Counsel's newsletter about state and federal cybersecurity and data privacy actions.

"Cybersecurity breaches this year have hit most major industries, from health care to financial services to education," they wrote. "Automotive dealers are also firmly on that list."

"When a major software provider for dealers experienced a significant cybersecurity breach over the summer, it highlighted how disruptive these incidents could be," they continued. "Dealers that relied on the software for vehicle sales, financing, and customer relationship management were impacted by an outage that reportedly adversely affected business."

"It also highlighted how few industries are safe from such cyberattacks, particularly as vehicles become more connected to drivers and their personal data. For dealers, incidents like these are good reminders about the importance of maintaining a vigilant cybersecurity posture, including at the vendor level, and implementing robust procedures to report cyber incidents in a timely manner. Dealers must also be aware of how a patchwork of data privacy laws impact their disclosure and retention obligations regarding collection of personal data."

Click here to read the full article.

The Defender is the National Association of Dealer Counsel's official newsletter.