Garmin suffers massive service outage, ransomware attack suspected

Wearable fitness device and smartwatch maker Garmin was forced to disconnect all devices for nearly a day following a ransomware attack that reportedly encrypted its internal network and some production systems. The outage was first reported by Garmin on July 23, and affected not only wearables and apps, but also Garmin call centres.

Garmin took to Twitter and the company website to write, “We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin.com and Garmin Connect. This outage also affects our call centres, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails, or online chats”, informing customers of the problem.

The company is expected to resolve the problem by closing its official website, the Garmin Connect user data-syncing service, Garmin's aviation database services, and even some production lines in Asia.

In Taiwan, a local blog iThome has gained access to an internal memo sent to Garmin’s IT staff and says the company has decided to close the factory for two days to sort out the issue, which is understood to be malware or virus.

Aside from the commercial fitness and consumer wearables, fly Garmin, the company’s web service that supports a line of aviation navigational equipment, was also hit by the attack.

Pilots were unable to download a version of Garmin's aviation database on their Garmin airplane navigational systems, which was quite a hassle as Pilots need to run an up-to-date version of this database on their navigation devices as an FAA requirement. In addition to this, the Garmin Pilot app, used to schedule and plan flights was also down, thereby increasing tensions, reported ZDNet.

Although the company itself hasn’t confirmed it, a number of employees believe it might be a strain of ransomware ‘WastedLocker’ as the source of the attack.

Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cyber security, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.