Garmin confirms: its online services have been stopped by a ransomware attack

Over the weekend, Garmin device users noticed that some features no longer work. These include services such as Garmin Connect, which synchronizes user activities to an online account, and flyGarmin, the company’s navigation system for aircraft. It was rumored that Garmin was the target of ransomware attacks, and now the company’s representatives have gone public and confirmed that this is indeed what happened.

Garmin has faced a ransomware attack that has shut down many of its online services.
In a press release, Garmin provided some details about the situation it faced:

“Garmin today announced that it was the victim of a cyber attack that encrypted some of our systems on July 23, 2020. As a result, many of our online services have been disrupted, including site features, customer support, applications and communications. internal of the company. We immediately began to assess the nature of the attack and began to remedy it. There is no evidence to suggest that customer data, including information from the Garmin Pay system, has been accessed, lost or stolen. Also, the functionality of Garmin products was not affected, apart from the ability to access online services.

The affected systems are being restored and we expect them to return to normal operations in the next few days. We do not expect any material impact on our operations or financial results due to this service outage. While the affected systems are being restored, we expect delays, as the latter information is now being processed. We are grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding during this incident and look forward to continuing to provide them with exceptional technical support and services that have been part of our tradition. ”

TechCrunch reports that Garmin has been attacked with a ransomware called WastedLocker. The attackers were a group of hackers from Russia, Evil Corp., which was sanctioned by the United States Treasury last year. Being under sanctions from the authorities, the companies that are affected by Evil Corp. and their ransomware software are not legally allowed to pay for unlocking files.