GNYADA November 2017 Newsletter

Six Important Safety Tips for Test Drives 11

GNYADA recommends that these policies incorporate the following measures:

already be in the passenger seat when (s)he hands over the keys. Train sales staff in how to react if a customer becomes aggressive or hostile during a test drive. While such instances are rare, it is important for employees to have an action-plan so they can make clearheaded decisions. If an employee leaves with a customer on a test drive, they must notify someone at the dealership. For this reason, it is important for the entire staff to be educated about the policy and be aware of the rules. For help crafting a test-drive policy for your dealership, please contact the Association at 718.746.5900. 5 6

The Equifax data breach served as an important reminder for dealers to focus on how to properly evaluate and respond to cybersecurity challenges. Given that 60% of companies that suf- fer a data breach go out of business within six months of the incident, it is important that dealers regularly assess their store's physical security as well as their network and system security. “Dealers are entrusted with a lot of sensitive information and have a responsibility to protect it,” said Steve Levine of Ignite Consulting Partners, a compliance company that helps dealer- ships of all sizes implement security measures. “That's a challenging com- mitment in this ever-changing world of technology. You’ve got to have the right game plan and commitment to data security on a daily basis.” Dealerships in Alabama and Mississippi were recently victimized by vehicle thefts that occurred during test drives. In one instance, a woman “test drove” the vehicle all the way to her home, 75 miles from the dealership; in the other, the thief waited until the salesperson exited the vehicle to switch seats, then fled and crashed into a mailbox as he was pursued by the police. Incidents such as these are important reminders for dealers to have a test- drive policy which prevents against theft and damage. This is a necessary part of the sales process not only to keep control of your inventory, but, more importantly, to keep your employees safe. 12

The following steps will help safeguard your business against both external hackers and employee negligence or misconduct: Regularly train employees on proper data protection procedures; Always follow prompts to update antivirus/antimalware programs; Run tests for vulnerable access points to the dealership’s data storage systems; n n n Rotate both physical and system access passwords; and, Have a separation process in place for departing employees, including disabling logins, removing social media privileges, notifying vendors, etc. Do not permit a test drive unless your dealership makes a copy of the customer’s driver’s license. Have set routes from which drivers can deviate as little as possible. In particular, routes should not allow for extremely easy access to highways or other open roads. The planned test-drive route should also consist mostly of right turns, which have a lower likeli- hood of an accident than left turns. Ensure that the test driver is accompanied by a dealership employee. The employee should n n

1

2

3

4

Lock-Down Cybersecurity at Your Dealership

Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association • www.gnyada.com

The Newsletter • November 2017

8