On Thursday, hackers hit the navigation and physical fitness giant Garmin with a ransomware attack that removed many services across the company. Garmin Link, the cloud platform that synchronizes user activity data, went dark, as did parts of Garmin.com. But as professional athletes discovered themselves unable to record runs and workouts, pilots who utilize Garmin products for position, navigation, and timing services in planes were dealing with their own problems.
The flyGarmin and Garmin Pilot app both suffered days-long blackouts, hindering some Garmin hardware used in aircrafts, including flight-planning mechanisms and the capability to upgrade obligatory FAA aerial databases. Garmin, which waited till Monday to verify that a cyberattack caused the problem, likewise saw its corporate email systems and consumer call centers hobbled by the attack. (Throughout the weekend, emails to Garmin public relations staffers bounced back and telephone call would not link.) Some reports show that Garmin’s ActiveCaptain maritime app also suffered failures.
Garmin’s services began to flicker back online on Monday, four days after the outages began. The occurrence underscores the pressing threat ransomware continues to posture across industries, though, particularly when it can interfere with services that millions of individuals count on.
Garmin stated in a statement Monday that has no indication that any customer data, including payment details from Garmin Pay, was accessed, lost or stolen.” The company declined to comment to WIRED on the specific effect to position, navigation, and timing services. The Garmin Aviation Twitter account posted on Thursday that, “We are presently experiencing an interruption that impacts the Garmin Pilot App and as an outcome, some services, such as flight plan filing, might be not available.” The account tweeted an update on Monday: “Many of the systems and services impacted by the recent blackout, including flyGarmin and Garmin Pilot, are returning to operation. Some functions still have temporary restrictions while all of the data is being processed.”
Numerous pilots reported on social media and air travel online forums that they were handling problems as a result of the Garmin outages. Lots of pointed to troubles planning and setting up flights. They likewise highlighte