Garmin suffers cyber outage due to suspected ransomware attack
Garmin, the US-based wearables and navigation device maker, has suffered outages across its range of services and call centres. It has not confirmed the ransomware attackServices affected include Garmin Connect, flyGarmin and Garmin Pilot apps
Garmin, the US-based wearables and navigation device maker, has been reportedly targeted by a ransomware attack leading to an outage of services on the company's apps, websites and call centres. Garmin is yet to confirm that the outage was caused by a ransomware attack. In a series of official tweets, the company acknowledged, "We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin Connect, and as a result, the Garmin Connect website and mobile app are down at this time."
The second tweet added, "This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience."
In an outage notification the company websites that are still down, Garmin said it's working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and has apologized for the inconvenience to customers.
The services that have been affected include Garmin Connect, flyGarmin and Garmin Pilot apps.
Ransomware attacks have seen an exponential rise in the last few years. According to a 2020 Sophos survey, 51% of organizations were hit by ransomware attacks in the last year. Ransomware operators successfully encrypted data in 73% of these attacks.
Garmin is one of the leading smartwatch brands in the world with a strong following in India especially among hikers, trainers and serious fitness enthusiasts.
The company shipped 1.3 million units of smartwatches worldwide in Q1 2020 registering a year-on-year growth of 31.7% over Q1 2019 when it shipped 1 million units, as per International Data Corporation.
In April, Garmin reported strong revenue and operating income growth for Q1 2020. The total revenue generated was $856 million, growing at 12%. Revenue from fitness, marine, outdoor and aviation increased by 17% YoY.
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