Garmin, a Smartware and gadgets maker has temporarily shut down some of its services. It is due to a ransomware attack that took place a couple of days ago. Experts analysis says that the attack has forced its internal server network to encrypted itself along with the production systems as well.
Garmin is now dealing with the issues and trying to recover it. They cannot pause the service for a long as the users of their gadgets will not be able to use the devices. According to tech experts, the official website of Garmin is now under maintenance due to this reason.
The Incident
Along with the website, Garmin’s aviation database also got affected by the ransomware. In addition to that, some of the production lines in Asia are also part of it. The attacker penetrated through ransomware named “WasteLocker”. Their intention was to steal user data in the exchange of money.
Several security researchers say that WasteLocker is a new kind of ransomware operated by a group of hackers known as Evil corporation. With the demand of cryptocurrency, the virus locks all the files in the system. But astonishingly, Garmin hasn’t said anything about this encryption of their server data.
What Garmin said about it?
The tech giant has spoken very little about it to the public. In their website, they have written about the outage effects of Garmin and Garmin Connect. Gradually, it has also affected the call centers of the tech giant itself. That is why they will not be able to receive any type of calls, messages, and emails.
In addition to that, Garmin also stated that all the user data is intact and no stealing of data took place. Moreover, all the user activity and payment data are also safe and untouched. Garmin is working on the issue to solve this as soon as possible. They are very much eager to bring back the lost situation on track.
User’s Point of View
People are facing problems with their Garmin fitness gadgets. People, who are pilots, using flyGarmin cannot download the latest software from the aviation database. The aviation regulators need to get the latest updates for the pilots before they fly. Other customers cannot log-in to the Garmin official database.
As a result, they also cannot access the database and analyze their fitness and health data. Reports say that a few high profile users were the victim. Despite all the consequences, the fitness gadget giant refuses to admit that it was ransomware.
