Garmin, the US-based smartwatch maker, suffered cyber outage with services affected on the company apps, website, and call centers, due to a ransomware attack.
The company announced temporary outage on its multiple platforms like Garmin connect, flyGarmin, Garmin Pilot apps, and promised to get the issues resolved soon but it did not disclose the cause of the outage. Multiple company employees took to social media to reveal that a ransomware attack had encrypted its internal network and some production systems.
As per multiple staffers, malicious hackers encrypted the company’s data and hold it hostage until a ransom was paid, usually in bitcoin. Unconfirmed reports suggest the strain of the ransomware used is EvilCorp’s WastedLocker, which primarily targets US-based corporations. As per some security companies, the group is believed to be based in Russia.
2020 Sophos survey suggested 51% of organizations affected by ransomware attacks
Lately, ransomware attacks have been on the rise and as per the 2020 Sophos survey, 51% of the organizations were hit by such attacks last year. Ransomware operators have successfully encrypted 73% of the data in these attacks.
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Cybersecurity experts have also suggested that the shift to remote working due to coronavirus pandemic has left several organizations vulnerable to such attacks. The attackers have more easy access from home than the multiple layers of security existing in an office building.
Multi-day maintenance window planned by Garmin, after a ransomware attack
Garmin, it seems is now planning a multi-day maintenance window to deal with the aftermath of the ransomware attack. iThome, a Taiwanese website obtained a copy of an internal memo that was circulated to its employees stating that the maintenance would continue through Friday and Saturday. Also, as iThome’s sources, the outage was caused due to a “virus”.
This will reportedly not allow thousands of Garmin users to sync their devices with the mobile app or the cloud. This has led to Garmin users to share online tips for saving data from their workouts using Garmin’s partner services, including Strava, to avoid losing information.
For Q1 2020 Garmin reported strong growth of 12%
Garmin, a leading smartwatch brand in the world, has shipped almost 1.3 million units of smartwatches worldwide in Q1 2020 and has also registered a year on year growth of 31.7% over Q1 2019 after shipping almost 1 million units.
In April Garmin reported total revenue of $856 million, with strong growth at 12% for Q1 2020. Revenue from fitness, outdoor, aviation, and marine has increased at 17% YoY.