Group claiming CDK systems hack demands millions of dollars, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) -A group of hackers claiming responsibility for a cyberattack on CDK's software systems has demanded millions of dollars in ransom to put an end to the hack, which affected auto dealers across the United States, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

The group behind the attack is believed to be based in eastern Europe, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

The auto retail technology and software provider planned to pay the ransom, Bloomberg News reported.

CDK has said it experienced a cyber incident on Wednesday.

Although it did not directly comment on the Bloomberg report, the company in an emailed statement on Saturday said it launched an investigation by experts, notified law enforcement and has begun the restoration process. CDK said restoration will take several days.

"...In the interim we are continuing to actively engage with our customers and provide them with alternate ways to conduct business," CDK said in the statement.

U.S. auto retailers Sonic Automotive and Penske Automotive flagged a hit to their operations on Friday, as CDK experienced a third consecutive day of outage.

In an emailed statement, Ford said that there was an industrywide system outage for dealers who use CDK.

"However, many Ford and Lincoln customers are able to receive sales and service support due to alternative processes available to our dealers," Ford said.

Sonic said its dealerships were open and it was working to minimize the disruption. The company said it was unable to determine if the outage would affect its financial condition, but that it did have a "negative impact" on its operations.

Penske said its Premier Truck Group business, which sells new and used commercial trucks, also uses CDK's disrupted dealer management system.

"Premier Truck Group has implemented its business continuity response plans and continues to operate at all locations through manual or alternate processes," Penske said.

The commercial truck dealership business has lower unit volumes than Penske's automotive dealership business, which does not rely on CDK's software.

Separately, Kia America told Reuters it was working with affected dealers to reduce the impact of the outage and continue towards "business as usual".

CDK on its website says it works with more than 15,000 retail locations across North America.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes and Kanjyik Ghoshin Bengaluru, additional reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Harshita Meenaktshi; Editing by Alan Barona, Pooja Desai and Cynthia Osterman)