Pilots using the flyGarmin app may be forced to ground their aircraft after a suspected ransomware attack against the smart device maker appeared to take out key services.
As of Thursday evening EDT, flight plan filing, account syncing and database concierge capabilities were down in the Garmin Pilot app, according to a service outage update from Garmin. Data from the on-board Central Maintenance Computer (CMC) was also unavailable.
“We are currently experiencing an outage that affects flyGarmin and as a result, the flyGarmin website and mobile app are down at this time,” it noted. “This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unavailable to receive any emails or chats, but do have limited availability for calls. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience.”
The outage seems to have affected the entire firm, which also produces fitness trackers, smart watches and other wearables.
It said the Garmin Connect website and mobile app are also down.
Saryu Nayyar, CEO of Gurucul, described the incident as a “doozy.
“You just don't know when the bad guys are going to attack and who will be their next victim. However, what we do know is every organization is susceptible to ransomware attacks. So, do what you can to prepare and respond,” he added.
“Hopefully, Garmin has a daily backup regimen for the company’s systems and data. That’s table stakes. If you get hit, at least you can recover your data. If you can get ahead of the attackers, even better. Behavioral analytics monitors every user and entity in the environment in real-time, to detect and stop bad actors before they can execute their payload. Machine-based responses are becoming table stakes to machine-based threats these days.”