Garmin have released a statement confirming a cyber attack on their systems on Thursday 23rd July 2020. The Garmin Connect app was displaying a "server maintenance" message but was quickly suspected to be a ransomware attack.
Statement:
"Garmin Ltd. 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 were interrupted including website functions, customer support, customer facing applications, and company communications. We immediately began to assess the nature of the attack and started remediation.
We have no indication that any customer data, including payment information from Garmin Pay, was accessed, lost or stolen. Additionally, the functionality of Garmin products was not affected, other than the ability to access online services. Affected systems are being restored and we expect to return to normal operation over the next few days.
As our affected systems are restored, we expect some delays as the backlog of information is being processed. We are grateful for our customers’ patience and understanding during this incident and look forward to continuing to provide the exceptional customer service and support that has been our hallmark and tradition."
As Garmin continues to restore their systems, they will be hoping that the damage done to their reputation will be minimal. Formerly a trusted and well respected brand, the company will face some difficulties as they try to reassure and restore confidence in their community. As there is personal and payment information associated with their service, it adds increased risk for customers, who will be looking to Garmin for answers following this cyber attack.
Many Garmin customers have been supporting the company, sharing their love of the products, services and community as the company begins to restore their services. There is still a question mark over what data will be restored, as users hope that their previous training data has not been lost.
While it is unclear exactly what happened with Garmin, it is speculated that the company was attacked and a demand of 10 million US dollars was made for the restoration of their systems.
