Most Read: Air Taxi Company Building Vertiports in Florida, Cyberattack Disrupts Car Dealership Operations Nationwide

Here are this week’s most-read stories in IoT World Today:

Air Taxi Company Partners to Build Vertiports in Florida

UrbanLink Air Mobility, a South Florida advanced air mobility (AAM) startup, is partnering with Ferrovial Vertiports to develop sites for the takeoff, landing and charging of electric aerial vehicles. 

UrbanLink recently agreed to purchase 20 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) jets from Lilium to operate the electric aerial vehicles (EAV) in South Florida.

Service is planned to start in 2026, with UrbanLink, Ferrovial and Lilium determining service routes and vertiport locations for initial eVTOL flights.

Discover more about the partnership >>>

CDK Cyberattack Exposes Gaps in Cybersecurity Regulations

The ongoing CDK Global hack that took down car dealerships across the country, is the latest example of how a lack of comprehensive federal cybersecurity regulations is affecting how companies respond to ransomware attacks.

CDK, which provides software to car dealerships, was hit by a ransomware attack orchestrated by the BlackSuit group.

Dealerships across the country were left unable to manage daily operations, with sales operations heavily affected.

Adam Strange, Omdia's principal analyst for data security, told IoT World Today that CDK's case illustrates how companies are dealing with attacks without proper guidance from the federal level.

Find out what security analysts had to say about the situation >>>

Cyberattack Disrupts Car Dealership Operations Across the U.S.

CDK Global, which provides software for car dealerships across North America, has been hit by a cyberattack orchestrated by the BlackSuit ransomware group that has impacted car dealerships across the U.S. 

CDK provides software to car dealerships to help manage operations, including sales, inventory and back-office processes.

The attack, which began on June 19, left the dealerships across the company unable to access CDK’s software to manage their operations for days. 

Find out more about the impact on dealerships nationwide >>>

Cruise Fined $112,500 for Self-Driving Taxi Accident Response

Self-driving company Cruise has been ordered to pay $112,500 by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for its response to last year’s October accident involving one of its self-driving taxis in which a pedestrian was injured.

The amount is the maximum allowed by state law, and significantly more than the $75,000 settlement originally offered by the General Motors subsidiary.

Cruise was specifically criticized by the regulatory body for its failure to swiftly provide video of the incident, in which a pedestrian was dragged along the road for 20 feet by one of the company’s autonomous Chevrolet Bolt taxis after originally being struck by a human-driven vehicle.

Find out more about the ruling >>>

Humanoid Robots Being Tested for Warehouse Automation

GXO, one of the world’s largest logistics firms, is testing humanoid robots as part of a partnership with robotics developer Apptronik to automate warehouse work, including item picking.

With more than 970 facilities that span some 200 million square feet, GXO is hoping to augment its operations with what it describes as “AI-enabled warehouse buddies.” 

The partnership will involve GXO testing Apptronik’s Apollo humanoid robots to evaluate their suitability for automating item picking in distribution centers. The robots will be put to the test, carrying boxes of items while simultaneously navigating around other coworkers.

Read more about the partnership >>>