by Smartwatches, fitness bracelets and GPS-navigation equipment maker Garmin paid a “multimillion-dollar” ransom to hackers who hacked into its internal security systems late last month. This was reported by Sky News, citing knowledgeable sources.
Sky News interlocutors said that Garmin made a payment in exchange for a key to decrypt files and resume access to their services. In order to pay the ransom, Garmin reportedly turned to Arete IR to get around US sanctions over a deal with hackers. Arete IR said that the links between the WastedLocker virus and the Russian company have not been proven.
The cybercriminals attacked Garmin systems using the WastedLocker ransomware virus, which is behind the hacker group Evil Corp, allegedly connected with the Russian special services. The group came under US Treasury sanctions last December.
Sky News does not indicate the exact amount of the ransom.
The first mentions of the WastedLocker virus appeared in Fox-IT and MalwareBytes reports in July 2020. Security experts argued that the virus creates encrypted files with the name of the victim organization and the postscript wasted, demanding a ransom of between $ 500,000 and $ 10 million in bitcoins. One of the sources of BleepingComputer reported that the attackers demanded $ 10 million from Garmin.
Source: Sky News
On July 23, 2020 Garmin’s online services, website and technical support call center were unavailable worldwide. Shortly thereafter, the media reported that Garmin systems were attacked by the WastedLocker ransomware virus. Garmin was able to partially restore access to the services only on July 27, confirming the attack by hackers, although the company initially spoke of large-scale “maintenance” .. post-facts {margin: 20px 0 15px 0; padding: 15px 0 15px 23px; margin-bottom: 0; border-top: 1px solid #ddd; border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd} .post-facts li {list-style: none; position: relative} .post-facts li: after {content: “”; display: block; width: 8px; height: 8px; background-color: # 40b8f2; transform: rotate (45deg); position: absolute; left: -20px; top: 7px} .post-facts li + li {margin-top: 4px}
