If you’re stumped by the latest Garmin outage, here’s what you can do
Update #2 7/26: The flyGarmin service is now operational once more, with the databases being rebuilt and calls now able to be made to some of its departments. It’s not been confirmed, however, whether this is proof that Garmin is managing to bring its full service back online. Update 7/26: Garmin has broken its silence to point TechRadar to a short Q&A, where it seeks to assuage fears of user data being compromised. Multiple outlets have spoken to people claiming to have direct knowledge of the attack on Garmin’s systems, with strong rumors suggesting at this point that the outage is a ransomware attack that has locked user data and is demanding paymrnt to unlock the files, but not stolen it. With its financial earnings call on Wednesday, the brand will need to issue a response to Garmin Connect being down to reassure investors and consumers alike. There’s nothing worse than grabbing a personal best in a run or cycle and then finding out you can’t brag about it to the world. OK, there are plenty of things worse — and actually, that kind of behavior probably isn’t healthy — but for those of us in denial, the recent Garmin outage is something that’s causing a lot of consternation. Since July 23, the fitness brand has been suffering from a lack of connectivity, which was originally down to ‘maintenance’. This means anyone trying to upload a run, swim, cycle, yoga session or any kind of fitness workout to the Garmin Connect service is unable to do so. Initially, Garmin was staying quiet, only sending a single Tweet: TechRadar has spoken to the brand and while it hasn’t shared any further details, there is a new statement from Garmin that sheds a little more light. ”Garmin is currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin services including Garmin Connect and Garmin Pilot. As a result of the outage, some features and services across these platforms are unavailable to customers. Additionally, our product support call centers are affected by the outage and as a result, we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats. “We are working to restore our systems as quickly as possible and apologize for the inconvenience. Additional updates will be provided as they become available.” The brand directed TechRadar to a short Q&A on how Garmin Connect being down has not affected user data — with the main response to user data being impacted offering the most solace to users: “Garmin has no indication that this outage has affected your data, including activity, payment or other personal information.” We’ll update this article as and when new information becomes available. While maintenance is often scheduled for quiet hours to allow the company to update key services, an outage of this length is almost certainly something much more severe — and a report from ZDNet is stating that «several Garmin employees took to social media to share details about the attack, all calling it a ransomware attack». BleepingComputer is claiming that first-hand sources with knowledge of the matter have confirmed this is a ransomware attack, locking parts of the Garmin system. The same site is now giving a lot more detail on the reported ransomware attack: according to screenshots allegedly sourced from Garmin employees, files are being locked under the title ‘GarminWasted’, and ransom amounts are being demanded for unlocking each.
