The vast majority of people who practice sports have a smart watch or activity bracelet. And, for sports lovers, having a record of training is essential to be able to track, control fitness and improve. For those of us who are addicted to sports and passionate about technology, graphics and data, this information record is intrinsic to sports practice. In addition, many users share their personal brands and activity records through social networks dedicated to this, such as Strava.
Well, we have been frustrated for a couple of days, because when we tried to open the Garmin app (Garmin Connect) we could not access it or there was no record of the data, neither the new ones nor the previous ones. In my case, when I opened the Garmin Connect application I was presented with this error message.
The Garmin Connect application allows users to track their physical activity, share it with applications such as Strava and observe other data of interest related to what is collected by the brand's cycling computers and watches.
After the first frustration we investigated what could be happening and when we entered Garmin's social networks we found that all their services have stopped working.
Garmin Iberia has limited itself to publishing a message on social networks announcing that they are experiencing incidents in Garmin Connect, which affect both the website and the app. Which frustrates users even more.
At this point we continue browsing the Internet and read that the Taiwanese media iThome has reported that several departments in the firm's production chain have been attacked by hackers. According to this newspaper, the company's factory in the country will remain completely closed during the next July 24 and 25 due to a possible ransomware attack.
It is then when we are aware that we have a lot of sensitive information stored on the platform: routes and location, weight, height, hours of sleep, activity monitoring, etc.
At the moment, the nature of the alleged attack and the potential consequences it may have for users are unknown.
Ransomware is a type of harmful program that restricts access to certain parts or files of the infected operating system and demands a ransom in exchange for removing this restriction. Some types of ransomware encrypt operating system files, rendering the device useless and coercing the user or companies to pay the ransom. WannaCry (2017) is one of the most famous ransomware.
Author: María José Peña. IT Project Director. Director of the Master in Cybersecurity Management, Ethical Hacking and Offensive Security at the EIP. Passionate about Cybersecurity and addicted to sports
