🚘 Grease, Grit, and Firewalls: What I’ve Learned About Dealership Cybersecurity

By Hank “Mac” McAllister

Back in the day, dealership security meant locking up the key box and making sure the parts guy set the alarm before heading home. Today? One missed patch, one unsecured endpoint, and you’re looking at ransomware freezing your entire operation faster than a snowstorm on the lot. Automotive cybersecurity has become crucial.

I’ve been in dealerships where the server sat under a desk in the finance office—next to a space heater and someone’s lunch. I’ve seen CRM logins written on sticky notes taped to the monitor. I’ve watched sales teams use personal phones for customer credit pulls because “the Wi-Fi’s acting up again.” This shows the gaps in cybersecurity necessary for automotive systems.

That kind of tech chaos doesn’t just slow you down—it exposes you to threats, revealing the necessity of automotive cybersecurity practices.

🛠 The Hard Truth About Dealership Cybersecurity

Dealerships are gold mines for hackers. You’ve got names, Social Security numbers, credit info, driver’s license scans—all just sitting there. And with the FTC Safeguards Rule now in full swing, compliance isn’t optional. It’s the law. This is where automotive cybersecurity plays a vital role.

Here’s what I’ve seen too many rooftops in Texarkana miss:

• No endpoint protection – A single infected laptop can tank your whole system.
• Weak access controls – Too many people have too much access to too many things.
• No incident response plan – When something does go wrong, no one knows what to do.

I don’t say this to scare you. I say it because I’ve lived it. I’ve been called in on a Saturday after a VoIP failure nuked a weekend sale event. I’ve walked into finance offices where old routers were literally zip-tied to power strips. I’ve seen good folks risk fines—and worse—because no one had their back on the tech side.

🧠 Enter: Complete Computing Solutions

What Texarkana dealers need isn’t just “IT support.” You need a team that knows what it’s like when your DMS crashes at 4PM on a Friday. You need a crew that doesn’t flinch when you say “Reynolds,” “Dealertrack,” or “compliance audit.” Effective protection of automotive systems through cybersecurity measures is vital.

That’s where Complete Computing Solutions comes in.

We offer:

• 🔐 Cybersecurity Built for Dealers – From MFA to EDR to encrypted backups, we lock it down.
• 📜 Compliance Readiness – We don’t just say “you’re covered”—we document it for the FTC.
• 🧰 One-Call Support – Networking, cabling, cameras, CRM quirks—we handle the whole mess.
• 📍 Local, Fast Response – Based right here in Texarkana. No call centers. No excuses.

We don’t “manage devices”—we protect livelihoods using automotive cybersecurity measures. We don’t “install software”—we keep sales teams selling and GMs sleeping at night.

🧩 Bottom Line

Your dealership is too important to trust to a guy who “knows computers.” And cybersecurity isn’t something you can bolt on after the fact. It has to be baked in—just like the grit, hustle, and heart you put into your store every day.

So if you’re tired of duct-tape fixes and compliance guesswork, let’s talk.

Complete Computing Solutions has your back—just like I would if I was still wrenching in your service bay.

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🔗 Ready to protect your dealership the right way?
Let’s schedule a free risk review. One rooftop at a time, we’ll get Texarkana dealerships secured—through automotive cybersecurity—and stay that way.

Complete Computing Solutions

903-306-1269

www.ccstexarkana.com