Eagers Automotive, a leading car dealership in Australia and New Zealand, has announced the suspension of stock exchange trading due to a recent cyber attack. The company operates more than 300 retail stores for well-known brands such as Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Ford, Volkswagen and Honda, and has a number of branches specializing in used car sales.
Eagers Automotive employs more than 8,500 people and has revenues of A$4.82 billion (US$3.25 billion) for the first half of 2023.
A suspension of all trading operations was required to avoid a breach of information. In a subsequent statement, the company said that several of its systems in Australia and New Zealand were affected by the cyber incident. The announcement
Eagers Automotive said the information systems outage is affecting a number of workplaces in Australia and New Zealand. Local media reported that "the full scale of the cyber incident cannot yet be determined."
External experts have stepped in and launched an urgent investigation. Eagers Automotive has notified the Australian Cyber Security Center and the New Zealand National Cyber Security Center of the incident.
The size of the company and the nature of its business have raised concerns about a potential data breach that could affect multiple customers and potentially compromise sensitive financial information. While the company regrets the inconvenience to its customers and emphasizes the importance of protecting customer and employee data, it did not address the potential data breach in a press statement.