Dealerships already spooked by the CDK Global cyberattacks face new cyber threat risks stemming from the global CrowdStrike outage on July 19.

CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity provider whose problematic software update led to a crash of Microsoft Windows systems globally. Now, criminals are trying to profit off the incident through bogus emails encouraging dealers to "fix" their systems.

A July 31 warning issued by cybersecurity consulting firm Helion Technologies cautioned that cybercriminals are pursuing what's known as a social engineering phishing attack. They're using a fake Internet domain that appears to be CrowdStrike, and in an email are encouraging dealerships to click a link for an "immediate patch.”

Helion's warning included a screenshot of another phishing email claiming to be from CrowdStrike. It encourages customers to update their Windows servers using an attached download and software tool "to avoid disruptions."

The email also recommends "organizations ensure they're communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels," and warns in bold that "the consequences of any failure to update the system and disruption will be the responsibility of the organization's IT manager."

Read more in Automotive News.