Within days of electing its 2025 board of directors and officers, Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) announced that it has released multiple updates to its existing Dealer Infrastructure Guidelines (DIG) for retail automotive.

The organization highlighted the current DIG focuses on better definitions, business continuity and data management. The group mentioned it’s also more prescriptive in nature, providing added guidance for the automotive industry desiring to achieve the DIG recommendations.

“The updated STAR Dealer Infrastructure Guidelines directly address the dealership community’s call for support in navigating critical technology challenges — ranging from AI and mobility to data management,” said Dan Hoban, vice president of field services for PDI Technologies. “In an industry where collaboration between dealers, OEMs, and technology partners is essential, having a trusted, shared standard is more important than ever.

“What makes these guidelines truly unique is the way the dealer community has come together to shape them. The result is a stronger, more unified approach to dealership technology — and ultimately, a better experience for customers at the dealership,” Hoban continued in a news release.

To better meet the needs of its growing membership automotive manufacturers, technology providers, and retail automotive dealerships, STAR pointed out the latest version of the DIG includes 17 updates across seven different topics.

Topics include vulnerability scanning, multi-factor authentication (MFA), continuous monitoring, data privacy, security policies, data management and AI governance. It also tackles key challenges like bring your own device (BYOD) for the first time as well as best practices for data backup and network availability.

“The last year has been a tumultuous time for dealers when it comes to data security, so the launch of the 2025 DIG could not come at a better time” said JP Garvey, who is chairman of STAR and dealer principal of Garvey Auto Group. “For dealers, the DIG provides helpful guidelines on basic practices and data security minimums to protect their customers’ data, not to mention their own. For automotive manufacturers and technology providers it’s a key tool that allows better engagement with their dealer partners.

“I’m pleased to announce that the DIG will also be translated into both French and Spanish, in recognition of STAR’s emerging role as a global standards organization in automotive,” Garvey went on to say.

Updated DIG documentation is available on the DIG standards section of STAR’s website.