MCLEAN, Va. — The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR), a nonprofit organization in the automotive space that fulfills the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers, announced today the release of the 2018 Dealer Data Security Guidelines.

Today, more than 70% of attackers target small businesses. That includes automotive retailers, who embody the ideal target for an attacker. Not only do dealerships collect sensitive information from their customers, they tend to have fewer data security safeguards in place and limited resources allocated to cybersecurity. In response to this growing concern, STAR developed the Dealer Data Security Guidelines — a guide updated each year to account for new threats and advancement in technology.

The Dealer Data Security Guidelines were developed as a collaborative effort of STAR members, which consists of numerous automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), data management system (DMS) providers and IT security vendors, and by Nuspire Networks, a managed security service provider (MSSP) for some of the largest companies around the world.

The guidebook touches on a variety of data security measures, ranging from IT security policies to cybersecurity technologies to security awareness training. The Dealer Data Security Guidelines serve as a resource for STAR members who provide automotive retailers with guidance, embedding and maintaining practical and effective data security controls that support industry best practices.