IT for auto dealerships
Sell cars, not excuses for why the system is down.
AnchorSix supports franchise and independent dealerships in Utah, Arizona and Idaho: the network, sales and F&I desks, service drive and the FTC Safeguards Rule, handled by one team. Dealers work evenings and weekends, so call any time, 24/7/365, and a real person picks up.
- Average live support answer
- 22 sec
- Support coverage
- 24/7/365
- Technology roadmap + quarterly reviews
- Plan ahead
What we fix
The IT problems dealerships call us about
You’re not sure you meet the FTC Safeguards Rule.
Dealers that arrange financing or leasing are covered, and the 2023 amendments added specific requirements. We write the information security program with you, put the controls behind it, and produce the documentation you’d need to show the FTC.
When the DMS goes down, the whole store stops.
The 2024 CDK outage showed how fast a dealership grinds to a halt. We help you plan for it: offline deal and repair-order procedures, local copies of what you need to keep selling, and a network that keeps everything else running.
A spoofed email asks to change a payoff or wiring instruction.
Lender payoffs, floor-plan payments and vehicle purchases move real money. We add impersonation protection, lock down mailboxes and train your office on a simple call-back rule, so a fake email is much less likely to move a payment.
Sales, F&I, service and parts all have different needs.
Shared logins on the sales floor, tablets in the service drive, credit applications at the F&I desk. We set up access by role, MFA that works for busy staff, and a network that keeps customer Wi-Fi far away from customer data.
FTC Safeguards Rule
What the Safeguards Rule requires, and what we do about it
Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, dealers that offer financing or leasing are financial institutions, and the FTC enforces the Safeguards Rule against them. The amendments that took effect in June 2023 replaced general guidance with specific required controls.
- FTC Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314)
- A written information security program with a designated Qualified Individual, a written risk assessment, access controls, an inventory of your data and systems, encryption of customer information, MFA for anyone accessing your information systems, secure disposal, monitoring and logging, staff training, oversight of service providers and a written incident response plan.
- Testing and reporting
- Continuous monitoring, or an annual penetration test and vulnerability scans every six months, plus a written report from your Qualified Individual to your board or owner at least once a year.
- Breach reporting to the FTC
- Since May 2024, a security event involving the unencrypted information of 500 or more customers must be reported to the FTC as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days after discovery.
- Smaller dealers
- Dealers that hold information on fewer than 5,000 consumers are exempt from a few requirements (such as the written risk assessment, incident response plan and annual report), but not from the rest.
This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Your attorney or dealer association can confirm how the Safeguards Rule applies to your store.
What AnchorSix handles
- Write and maintain your information security program
- Annual risk assessment, in writing
- MFA on email, DMS, CRM and remote access
- Encryption on laptops, email and file storage
- 24/7 monitoring, logging and endpoint detection
- Phishing training for every department
- Incident response plan, and our team on call if it’s needed
Your software
We work with the software you already use
DMS, CRM and desking tools run the store. We keep the network, workstations and connections they depend on healthy, and call the vendor for you when something breaks.
- CDK Global
- Reynolds & Reynolds
- Dealertrack
- DealerSocket
- Tekion
- VinSolutions
- Elead
- RouteOne
- vAuto
- 700Credit
- Microsoft 365
Practical AI & governance
AI for the BDC and the service drive, with customer data protected
AI can answer leads after hours, schedule service, draft follow-ups and summarize calls. Those tools handle customer information the Safeguards Rule protects. We help you get the gains and keep every AI vendor inside your security program.
- Vet AI chat, phone and CRM tools as service providers under the Safeguards Rule
- AI governance built into your security program: approved tools, data rules and annual review
- Keep credit applications and Social Security numbers out of unapproved AI tools
- Fix file permissions before turning on Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Train staff with dealership-specific examples, including AI-written phishing
“Client quote from an auto dealership client goes here.”
Name, title, firm
FAQ
Common questions
Does the Safeguards Rule really apply to my dealership?
If you arrange financing or leasing for customers, very likely yes. The FTC treats those dealers as financial institutions under the rule. Your attorney can confirm how it applies to your store.
Our DMS provider handles security. What’s left for you to do?
Everything your team uses to reach it: the workstations and logins, MFA, email, the store network and Wi-Fi, scanners and printers, and the plan for when the DMS isn’t available. Your DMS provider is also a service provider you’re required to oversee.
Do you support multi-rooftop dealer groups?
Yes. We standardize security and networks across rooftops, so one written program covers the group, with one accountable team behind it.
How fast do you answer?
Our support line is staffed 24/7/365, and the average call reaches a real person in 22 seconds.
Other industries
Who else we help
- CPA & Accounting FirmsTax-season support planned around your deadlines, and a written security plan for the FTC Safeguards Rule.
- Law FirmsClient confidentiality, secure remote access to matters, and protection from wire-fraud email.
- Medical PracticesHIPAA security risk assessments, and an EHR that’s monitored and supported during clinic hours.
- Dental PracticesPractice software, imaging and HIPAA security supported by one team, so problems get fixed quickly.
- ManufacturersKeep the floor running: ERP uptime, ransomware recovery and supply-chain security requirements.
- RetailersPoint-of-sale uptime across every location, and PCI compliance without the headache.
- Real EstateReduce wire-fraud risk, and keep agents productive from anywhere.
Start with a conversation.
A 15-minute call to understand your current setup, priorities, and whether we’re a good fit.
- Review of your written security program, or a gap list if you don’t have one
- MFA, encryption and monitoring check against the rule
- Wire, payoff and email-fraud defenses
- A written summary with fixes in priority order