Garmin Paid a Multi Million Dollar Ransom to Hackers After Cyberattack: Report
Garmin Paid a Multi-Million Dollar Ransom to Hackers After Cyberattack: Report 4l1014
The cyberattack was reportedly developed by individuals who have links to Evil Corp. 73g5q
By Tanishka Sodhi | Updated: 4 August 2020 16:03 IST
Garmin paid a multi-million-dollar ransom to hackers who encrypted its data 3l396j
Highlights
Garmin paid a multi-million-dollar ransom to hackers
Cyberattack was reportedly developed by individuals linked to Evil Corp
The attack had affected all Garmin devices globally
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Smartwatch maker Garmin paid a multi-million-dollar ransom to hackers who encrypted its data, according to a report. This news comes almost two weeks after Garmin was the victim of a ransomware attack that affected its devices globally. In ransomware attacks, hackers encrypt a company's files until a ransom is paid. Security sources say that the cyberattack was developed by individuals who have links to Evil Corp, a cyber group in Russia which was sanctioned by the US Government last year.
As per a ransomware to the hackers. Instead, it hired Arete IR for its ransomware negotiation services to make the multi-million dollar ransom payment. The US government had sanctioned Evil Corp in December, saying that US persons were prohibited from engaging in transactions with the 17 individuals and seven business entities linked to Evil Corp, even in the case of extortion.
Arete IR, however, said that it believed WastedLocker, a ransomware virus associated with the attack, was not conclusively the work of Evil Corp.
According to the report, Garmin initially wanted to pay the ransom using a firm that specialised in dealing with such incidents, but couldn't as the firm did not want the risk of going against the sanctions imposed by the US government. Garmin then sought the services of Arete IR, according to whom links between the WastedLocker ransomware and sanctioned individuals had not been proven.
So far, the US government has not yet made a public attribution linking Evil Crops to WastedLocker. As media reports started emerging naming WastedLocker as the ransomware virus used to target Garmin, Arete put out a report on twitter that claimed that the theory linking Wastedlocker to Evil Corp was inconclusive.
Garmin services faced a did not specify that it was the target of a ransomware attack as well.
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