With the amount of sensitive customer data they handle and the high volume of financial transactions they process, auto dealerships have increasingly become prime targets for cybercriminals.
Payment processing systems, in particular, are a critical vulnerability. A single breach can halt business operations, trigger regulatory scrutiny, and irreparably damage customer trust.
In fact, 84% of customers say they would not buy another vehicle from a dealership if a breach compromised their data, according to a 2023 CDK Global study referenced by IBM. That means payment data security isn’t just an IT concern—it’s critical to business survival.
Key Takeaways
- Dealerships Are Attractive Targets. High payment volume and outdated systems make dealerships vulnerable to cyberattacks.
- Breaches Have Serious Consequences. One incident can disrupt operations, hurt revenue, and damage customer trust.
- Strong Basics Reduce Risk. Training, PCI compliance, and secure systems are essential first lines of defense.
- RevUpX Strengthens Your Security. RevUpX offers standalone, secure payment solutions tailored to dealership needs.
What Makes Dealership Payment Data a Target
Understanding why dealerships are targeted is the first step toward strengthening defenses and protecting payment data. Key factors include:
- High Transaction Volume: Dealerships process many credit card transactions across sales, service, and parts, making them an attractive data source for cybercriminals. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) 2024 full-year report, dealerships, for example, wrote over 270 million repair orders in 2023—with service and parts sales surpassing $156 billion.
- Multiple Payment Channels: In-store terminals, online payment portals, and mobile payments all introduce varying degrees of exposure.
- Legacy Systems: Many dealerships still operate outdated infrastructure or loosely integrated systems that lack modern security safeguards.
Key Threats to Dealership Payment Data
Dealerships face a range of cyber threats that specifically target payment systems and data, including:
- Phishing & Social Engineering: These attacks often serve as the entry point for deeper intrusions into payment systems.
- Point-of-Sale (POS) Malware: Attackers can install malware on POS systems to siphon off credit card data during transactions. One dealership cybersecurity firm warns that POS terminals, particularly in the service department, are especially vulnerable without proper segmentation and patching.
- Online Payment Portal Hacks: As dealers expand digital services, their websites become more exposed. A 2025 supply-chain attack injected malicious code into over 100 dealership websites, compromising customer transactions.
- Ransomware: This is arguably the most devastating threat. Attackers encrypt systems—including payment software and DMS platforms—and demand ransom to restore access. Dealerships hit by ransomware experience an average of 16 days of downtime and pay an average ransom of $228,000 to regain control. The fallout includes disrupted operations, lost revenue, and reputational damage.
- Insider Threats & Weak Internal Controls: Employees with access to systems can, intentionally or unintentionally, expose sensitive data, especially when controls like MFA or access logging are not in place.
Security Best Practices for Payment Processing
To help reduce exposure and protect sensitive data, dealerships should implement the following payment security best practices:
- PCI DSS Compliance: Adhering to PCI DSS standards significantly reduces the risk of breaches. To that point, an executive at a leading telecommunications company said, based on their data, they’ve never investigated a payment card security data breach for a PCI DSS-compliant organization.
- Tokenization & Encryption: Ensure card data is tokenized and encrypted at rest and in transit.
- EMV & Contactless Payments: EMV chip readers reduce fraud from counterfeit cards, while contactless options limit physical interaction with terminals.
- Secure Payment Gateways: Choose gateways with built-in fraud detection and robust encryption.
- Regular Audits & Penetration Testing: Conduct regular system audits and simulated attacks to identify vulnerabilities before bad actors do.
Choosing the Right Payment Processor
Choosing a payment processor is a critical security decision.
Look for providers that prioritize PCI DSS compliance, strong encryption, and built-in fraud protection.
Ask key questions: Do they support tokenization? How is their incident response handled? Can they isolate payment systems from the rest of your network?
Equally important is transparency and support. Your processor should provide clear documentation and readily assist if a security issue arises.
Staff Training & Cyber Hygiene
Employees play a vital role in protecting dealership payment systems, and ongoing education is key.
All staff should be trained to recognize phishing attempts, create strong passwords, and follow secure device usage policies. These fundamental skills form the first line of defense against many common cyber threats.
But training shouldn’t be a one-time event.
Regular refreshers and reminders help keep best practices top of mind and reduce the risk of human error over time.
Beyond the basics, dealerships should aim to build a culture where cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility, not just something left to the IT department.
Creating this culture of awareness helps ensure that security stays front and center in daily operations.
Creating a Strong Security Foundation With RevUpX
Securing your dealership’s payment systems is essential to protecting customer trust and maintaining uninterrupted business operations.
When implementing stronger security measures, choosing the right payment processing partner is one of the most impactful decisions you can make.
RevUpX understands the unique security challenges auto dealerships face. As a standalone payment processor, RevUpX offers several key security advantages:
- Enhanced System Isolation: By keeping payment processing separate from other operations, RevUpX provides critical system segmentation that can contain potential breaches. This standalone approach means that even if other systems are compromised, payment processing can remain secure and operational.
- Industry-Leading Security Infrastructure: Through partnerships with established leaders like Fiserv and CardConnect, RevUpX delivers enterprise-grade security features including advanced encryption, tokenization, and EMV chip technology through Clover terminals and CardPointe Gateway virtual terminals.
- Reduced PCI Scope: RevUpX’s specialized solutions can significantly reduce your PCI compliance burden by limiting where payment data flows within your systems.
- Expert Support: With dedicated account teams and decades of combined industry experience, RevUpX provides knowledgeable guidance on implementing and maintaining secure payment processes tailored specifically for auto dealerships.
The 2024 CDK Global cyberattack showed that dealerships using standalone payment processors faced fewer disruptions and stayed operational.
Partnering with RevUpX gives your dealership a security-focused ally dedicated to protecting your business and customers.
Ultimately, securing your dealership’s payment data is about more than compliance, it’s about building trust, protecting revenue, and creating a foundation for sustainable growth in an increasingly digital marketplace.
Learn more about how RevUpX’s tailored merchant services solutions can transform your auto dealership’s payment processing and help safeguard your business against cyber threats.
Contact RevUpX today to explore how we can help you capture savings, boost profitability, and enhance security for your dealership.
