Given the incredibly connected reality of today’s technology infused business practices, it might be difficult for dealers to track just exactly where data from their company — and their customers — is traveling.

CDK Global hopes to help with that through its free Dealer Data Exchange product.

Designed to give dealers more visibility into the flow of their information going to manufacturers and third-party vendors, CDK hopes its DDX solution will help give piece of mind to dealers in the current digital landscape, where everyone can be vulnerable to security breaches.

"A data breach can put your dealership's reputation at risk," said Jim Foote, chief business security officer at CDK Global. "With the daily business challenges facing dealers, security can easily become an afterthought. 

"But just like you have a system to keep track of the keys from the cars on your lot, you need a way to keep track of the connections to your DMS and where your data is distributed. With DDX, we're giving our dealers a free tool to provide the visibility they've been asking for."

Want to check out DDX? Click here.

Here are a few extra security tips for dealers, provided by CDK:

• Create a plan: Developing a comprehensive plan to proactively protect your data and to deal with potential data security breaches will help to prevent and deal with them should something arise. Be sure to include best practices for employees using e-mail, social media, safe web browsing and interacting with customers and vendors online.
• Educate your employees: Ninety-one percent of targeted cyber-attacks start with a phishing e-mail. Make sure everyone in the dealership is educated about how to spot a phishing attack; if it looks and sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. 
• Change passwords frequently: The most common risky behaviors by employees are the failure to change passwords frequently, reusing the same passwords and user names, and leaving the computer unattended. Make sure passwords are complex, always lock machines when not in use and use software that enforces strong passwords. 
• Update software: Making sure you have the most up-to-date software helps ensure that the systems you are using include current protections against hackers. With the complexity of modern software ever-changing, security gaps are more prevalent in outdated software, which exposes your business to hackers via previously identified flaws in system technology.

For more information about CDK Global, visit its site here.