Garmin Ltd. said Monday it was hit by a cyberattack last week that encrypted some of its systems and disrupted its services, but said its systems would be fully restored in the coming days.
The company did not say in its statement that it had been the victim of ransomware, an attack in which criminals encrypt a system's files and demand a ransom from the owner in exchange for the decryption key. However, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press that the attackers had provided the decryption keys that would allow Garmin to unlock the data locked in the attack.
The attack affected services such as Garmin Connect, which is popular among runners and cyclists for tracking workouts, and the FlyGarmin for pilots. A company spokesperson said Garmin would not comment further on the incident.
Cybersecurity news site BleepingComputer identified the malware as WastedLocker, which various security firms have attributed to the Russian hacking group Evil Corp.The US government announced in December that it was freezing the assets of members of the group.
Olathe, a subsidiary of the company, said Monday that in addition to GPS -based services , the company's customer support and communications were also disrupted by the July 23 attack.
“We have no indication that any customer data, including Garmin Pay payment information, was leaked, lost or stolen,” Garmin said in a statement. However, the attack did not affect the functionality of any of its products, including fitness watches.
According to researchers, Ransomware is a threat that is on the rise and will only get worse as victims continue to pay ransoms. In the U.S. last year, ransomware attacks on state and local governments, healthcare providers, and educational institutions caused about $7.5 billion in damages, according to cybersecurity firm Emsisoft.
