Hackers reportedly demand $10 million ransom from Garmin

Hackers have demanded a $10 million ransom from Garmin after confirmation the company was the victim of a ransomware attack.

The WastedLocker ransomware hit Garmin's network on Thursday, with one employee telling Bleeping Computer they first noticed something was wrong when they arrived at work on Thursday morning.

The Garmin IT department then tried to remotely shut down all work computers on the network, which they were unable to do, and so told employees to shut down all computers they had access to.

This company-wide shutdown included all devices in their data centre to try and avoid them being encrypted, which explains the global outage currently being experienced.

>>> Strava data shows drop in use during Garmin Connect outage

Bleeping Computer were told by one source the hackers are demanding a $10 million ransom, although this has not yet been verified.

Garmin issued an apology for the outage yesterday evening, which is entering its third day, also saying they do not believe any customer personal data has been affected.

The company has also responded to a number of frequently asked questions, hoping to alleviate the concerns of customers.

They say that once Garmin Connect is accessible again, users' activity data shouldn't be lost as it is stored on the device and will appear once the user is able to sync their device. They have a page on their website that is showing the status of their platforms and features, all of which are currently down.

One bit of good news is that inReach SOS and messaging features have not been affected by the outage, including the MapShare website and email reply page. More updates can be found here.

In terms of personal data, Garmin say they do not think the outage has affected activity data, payment details or other personal information.

"We want to extend our sincerest apology for the inconvenience the outage has caused for our customers," Garmin said in a statement.

The outage affects cyclists using the popular Garmin Edge units, as well as runners, and other athletes who wear the Garmin watches.

Garmin also manufactures Sat Nav devices, lifestyle tracking watches and navigational systems for pilots, meaning the effects of an outage could be more consequential than the loss of a few Strava KOM/QOMs.

"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," Garmin said at the time of the outage on Thursday.

"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."