Eddie Hawthorne, Arnold Clark’s chief executive and managing director, will share his company’s story of how the business recovered after a cyberattack as part of a special session at Automotive Management Live 2023.

Registrations are now open for the UK’s free-of-charge motor retail exhibition and seminar show, on November 9 at the NEC, Birmingham.

The event, brought to you by AM and the National Franchised Dealer Association (NFDA), is free to attend for franchised and independent dealer professionals and offers four dedicated seminar streams and an exhibition hall packed with the latest innovations from the UK’s leading automotive retail suppliers.

AM100 groups are being increasingly targeted by professional hackers trying to hold businesses to ransom by breaching dealers’ digital defences.

On the evening of December 23, 2022, Arnold Clark was a victim of a cyber attack.

Its external security network consultants alerted the business to unusual activity on its network, and steps were immediately taken to minimise the impact of the attack.

The group has been working with its security partner Experian, the police and the Information Commissioner’s Office to investigate the attack and prepare the group’s defences for the future.

Hawthorne said: “Sharing our story at AM Live is something I think is important because it’s something that can affect any business and dealing with it has been a mammoth task.

“Protecting our business and customers is something we take really seriously and understanding the threat and the scale of this issue is something that affects every business.”

Other dealer groups like Pendragon, Holdcroft Group and LSH Auto have also been targeted by cybercriminals, with large scale attacks looking to hold dealer groups to ransom.

Each has worked with legal experts, cybercrime consultants and insurers to help form a response and upgrade their businesses digital defences for the future.

This cybercrime panel is just one of more than 12 seminar sessions at Automotive Management Live across specialist Digital, Sales, Aftersales and Strategy streams that all delegates can access and attend for free.

For more information about the show or to register for your free place head to www.automotivemanagementlive.co.uk