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[rogue-ai-cat]

ATTENTION PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME!

If you get a notification on a website to update ANY SOFTWARE, EvilCorp, a Russian hacking organization is using fake install windows ON REAL WEBSITES to install ransomware onto your machine that will tunnel through your work VPN and encrypt and hold for ransom files OF THE COMPANY YOU WORK FOR USING YOUR LAPTOP AT HOME.

DO NOT INSTALL ANYTHING FROM THE WEB!!!

They just took down ALL of Garmin's services including navigation systems for airplanes!! They're taking on fortune 500 companies and American news outlets.

Sources:

https://upnewsinfo.com/2020/07/26/will-garmin-pay-10-million-ransom-in-order-to-bring-to-an-end-ransomware-attack-after-three-days/

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/threat-spotlight/2020/07/threat-spotlight-wastedlocker-customized-ransomware

https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-wastedlocker-ransomware-demands-payments-of-millions-of-usd/

https://theaviationist.com/2020/07/25/garmin-aviation-app-and-services-down-in-ransomware-attack/

[shirlleycoyle]

The Garmin Ransomware Hack Is Horrifying

The Garmin ransomware attack that took down the GPS company’s fitness tracking apps, customer service infrastructure, and most of its services, was a devastating attack that should worry anyone who uses a smartwatch or other wearables.

The attack, which encrypted much of Garmin’s data, demonstrates that companies that collect and use highly sensitive GPS, health, and fitness data are targets for hackers and that Garmin—one of the giants in this space—did not take cybersecurity seriously. Garmin’s “Connect” app was down for days. The company has not been terribly forthcoming about the hack or what was affected, offering only a vague statement. Garmin devices are used by people to track their workouts, but are also used by the U.S. military and by boat captains who rely on the company’s technology to avoid being lost at sea, for example. There is currently no indication that boat or military systems were affected.

Still, the hack is devastating. 

“For consumers, Garmin clearly represents a repository of really detailed information. You turn on your thing when you leave your residence, and you turn it off when you get home. Sometimes, you take a jog in the middle of the day and you're trying to collect steps at work. These are all things that speak of who you are and what you do and where you live, and can all be quickly turned into identifying information,” John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, told Motherboard.

“A couple of years ago, I coined the term fit leaking to describe what happens when fitness tracking is used for intelligence gathering,” he added. 

While most Garmin smartwatches do not connect to the internet natively and store workout information on the devices themselves, the Garmin Connect app does not allow users to transfer their workout information to the app without storing it on Garmin’s servers. Garmin allows users to “Opt Out” of sharing workout information with the company, but opting out makes the app essentially useless: “our apps and websites can still be used to manage device settings and notifications [if you opt out],” the company says, but no workout data will be displayed.

In 2018, the Guardian reported that fitness tracking app Strava gave away the location of secret U.S. army bases by releasing a data visualization map that detailed the activity of Strava users. The data visualization map could be used to identify U.S. bases by mapping the activity of military personnel using the app, which became apparent in places like Afghanistan and Syria where it appeared the app was almost exclusively used by those in the military.

Scott-Railton also noted that while many consumers may know Garmin for its wearable smartwatches and sports and fitness tracking systems, the company also has a full fleet of navigational products which are used both in marine navigation and aviation. It is not clear to what extent these were affected in the attack. The BBC reported that pilots who use flyGarmin, which is used for navigational support, were unable to download up-to-date aviation databases.

“What's interesting is that this is one of those cases where something that's actually really critical to safety also has a consumer dimension,” Scott-Railton said.

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Garmin sent Motherboard a link to a press release published on the company’s website.

“We immediately began to assess the nature of the attack and started remediation,” the company said in its press release. “We have no indication that any customer data, including payment information from Garmin Pay

, was accessed, lost or stolen.”

Some of the services the company did list as affected include website functions, customer support, customer facing applications, and company communications. The company said affected systems are being restored and should return to normal over the next few days.

Though not confirmed by Garmin, reports suggest the company was the victim of ransomware called WastedLocker, which the cyber security software provider Symantec, a division of Broadcom, said had been deployed against dozens of U.S. companies.

“The end goal of these attacks is to cripple the victim’s IT infrastructure by encrypting most of their computers and servers in order to demand a multimillion dollar ransom,” Symantec wrote in a recent blog post.

Scott-Railton, who has been following the Garmin incident as it unfolded, said he expects cyberattacks on companies to continue.

“I think everyone would tell you that the tempo of attacks is going up, and that this is also a period of time where IT teams are uniquely stretched, and large chunks of the workforce are operating remotely and based on VPN, and that just massively expands the threat surface for your organization,” Scott-Railton said. “Especially when it comes to things like attacks that focus on targeting specific users.”

The Garmin Ransomware Hack Is Horrifying syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[bbcbreakingnews]

Garmin acknowledges cyberattack, doesn’t mention ransomware

The GPS device maker Garmin acknowledged on Monday that it was victimized by a cyberattack last week that encrypted some of its systems, knocking its fitness tracking and pilot navigation services offline. It said systems would be fully restored in the next few days.

In an online statement, the company did not specify that it was the target of a ransomware attack, in which hackers infiltrate a company’s network and use encryption to scramble data until payment is received. 

However, a person familiar with the incident response told The Associated Press the attackers had turned over decryption keys that would allow Garmin to unlock the data scrambled in the attack. 

Smartwatch manufacturer Garmin has confirmed that it fell victim to a serious cyber attack which knocked many of its services offline for five days 

The Garmin Connect software can be seen unsuccessfully attempting to contact the company’s servers to upload fitness data. The experience has frustrated customers 

Garmin has not revealed whether it paid the $10m ransom demanded by the cybercriminal group headed by a 33-year-old Russian playboy hacker, Maksim Yakubets, who drives a customized $250,000 Lamborghini with a personalized number plate that translates to the word ‘Thief’   

Garmin announced that its devices were back online but that there may still be some issues

Files shared from a Garmin employee show how a ransomeware file had been attached to each one giving the user details of what to do next in order to retrieve their data

A tweet shows the email address that Garmin workers were told to email in order to restore access to their data

A note from the hackers has been attached to every single data file within Garmin’s systems along with details as to how the company will be able to restore access after paying a ransom

Garmin has not revealed whether it paid the $10m ransom demanded by a cybercriminal group headed by 33-year-old Russian playboy hacker, Maksim Yakubets, who drives a customized $250,000 Lamborghini. 

In December 2019, the FBI placed a $5 million bounty on Yakubets’ head for information leading to his capture. It is the largest reward being offered for an alleged criminal connected to cybercrime. 

The person spoke on condition they not be further identified.

Tens of millions of people around the world found the firm’s GPS and fitness-trackers, including those used by runners, cyclists and pilots, down five straight days. 

Users reported Garmin services began to slowly return Monday after the system was hacked 

The attack crippled company services including Garmin Connect, which is popular with runners and cyclists for tracking workouts, and the FlyGarmin navigation service for pilots. 

Customers said Monday their services had ‘partially’ returned. One wrote: ‘For the first time in over 4 days, Garmin Connect seems sorta back up. It’s a bit touch and go, but it’s waking up.’ Another added: ‘Took over 5 minutes off my 10k pb this morning. Thank god Garmin is back up and I have proof of it.’ 

A Garmin spokesperson said the company had no comment beyond its statement.

The online cybersecurity news site BleepingComputer identified the malware as WastedLocker, which various security firms have attributed to the Russian cybercriminal gang Evil Corp. 

Services including Garmin connect and Strava were still listed as limited as of Monday

One Twitter user posted a image that showed how their Garmin smartwatch was not able to be updated

The U.S. government announced in December that it was freezing the assets of members of the group.

Olathe, Kansas-based Garmin said Monday that, in addition to GPS-based services, customer support and company communications were also interrupted by the July 23 attack.

‘We have no indication that any customer data, including payment information from Garmin Pay, was accessed, lost or stolen,’ Garmin said in its statement. The attack also didn’t affect the functionality of any of its products, which include fitness watches, it added.

Ransomware is a growing threat and experts say it will only get worse if victims keep paying ransoms. 

In the U.S. last year, ransomware attacks on state and local governments, healthcare providers and educational institutions alone caused an estimated $7.5 billion in damage, according to the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft.  

The ransomware attack has led to a shutdown of many of Garmin’s systems. 

Employees working from home connecting by VPN were also cut off from Garmin’s systems in an effort to halt the spread of the ransomware across its network. 

Until Monday, Garmin been largely silent on the outage.  

There was no word from Garmin as to whether the company paid the ransom despite multiple questions from users on Twitter

Garmin’s statement  

Garmin Ltd. today announced it was the victim of a cyber attack that encrypted some of our systems on July 23, 2020. 

As a result, many of our online services were interrupted including website functions, customer support, customer facing applications, and company communications. 

We immediately began to assess the nature of the attack and started remediation. 

We have no indication that any customer data, including payment information from Garmin Pay

, was accessed, lost or stolen. 

Additionally, the functionality of Garmin products was not affected, other than the ability to access online services.

Affected systems are being restored and we expect to return to normal operation over the next few days. 

We do not expect any material impact to our operations or financial results because of this outage. 

As our affected systems are restored, we expect some delays as the backlog of information is being processed. 

We are grateful for our customers’ patience and understanding during this incident and look forward to continuing to provide the exceptional customer service and support that has been our hallmark and tradition. 

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The post Garmin acknowledges cyberattack, doesn’t mention ransomware appeared first on BBC BREAKING NEWS.

from WordPress https://bbcbreakingnews.com/garmin-acknowledges-cyberattack-doesnt-mention-ransomware/

[alpaca1]

Garminがサービスダウンはランサムウェアによるものと認める（一部機能は未復旧） スポーツとフィットネス分野の大手テクノロジー企業であるGarmin（ガーミン）は、5日間に渡ってサービスがダウンした原因はランサムウェア攻撃だったことを確認した。 同社は米国時間7月27日付の声明でマルウェアによってシステムの一部が暗号化されたことを認めた（Business Wire記事）。 Garminは「結果としてウェブサイト、カスタマーサポート、ユーザーアプリケーション、当社のコミュニケーションなどオンラインサービス多数が停止した。我々は直ちにこの攻撃の性質を調査し、対策を取り始めた。現在、多くのサービスが復旧している」と述べている。 同社によれば「一部の機能は修復中だが、ユーザーデータが失われたり盗まれたりした疑いはない」という。 この攻撃によりGarmin Connectなど（Wayback Machine記事）数百万単位のユーザーをもつオンラインサービスが大規模な混乱に見舞われた。Garmin Connectはユーザーの活動データをクラウドやのデバイスに同期するアプリだ。また航空機のナビゲーションと航空ルートの計画サービスであるflyGarminもダウン（Garminリリース）した。 Garminはトラブルを単に「事故」と発表していた。しかしTechCrunchの取材に対し、情報源は「サービスのデータを暗号化するマルウェア攻撃よるものだ」と明かした。 TechCrunchは事情���直接知る情報源を引用して「この攻撃はWastedLockerと呼ばれるランサムウェアによるものと報じた。WastedLockerは2019年に米財務省が制裁措置を適用したロシアのハッカーグループであるEvil Corp.が使っていることが知られている。 制裁措置により米国企業は対象グループとの取引を一切禁じられた。これによりファイルを取り戻すために身代金を支払うことも違法となっていた。 サービスの停止中、Garminの株価は102ドルから94ドルに急落した。7月27日の月曜日午後の取引で株価3％アップして100ドルまで戻している Garminは今週29日に四半期決算を発表する予定だ。 関連記事：ランサムウェア攻撃によってGarminのサービスが世界的に停止 画像クレジット：Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg / Getty Images 【Japan編集部追記】ガーミンジャパンのサイトによれば「一部の機能がご利用いただけなくなっております」とのこと。 ［原文へ］ （翻訳：滑川海彦@Facebook） Source: テッククランチ・ジャパン

[un-enfant-immature]

Garmin confirms ransomware attack took down services

Sport and fitness tech giant Garmin has confirmed its five-day outage was caused by a ransomware attack.

In a brief statement on Monday, the company said it was hit by a cyberattack on July 23 that “encrypted some of our systems.”

“As a result, many of our online services were interrupted including website functions, customer support, customer facing applications, and company communications,” the statement read. “We immediately began to assess the nature of the attack and started remediation.”

Garmin said it had “no indication” that customer data was accessed, lost, or stolen. The company said its services are being restored.

The attack caused massive disruption to the company’s online services, used by millions of users, including Garmin Connect, which syncs user activity and data to the cloud and other devices. The attack also took down flyGarmin, its aviation navigation and route-planning service.

The tech maker previously attributed the incident to an “outage,” but sources familiar with the incident told TechCrunch that the outage was caused by file-encrypting malware.

TechCrunch previously reported that the attack was caused by the WastedLocker ransomware, citing a source with direct knowledge of the incident. WastedLocker is known to be used by a Russian hacking group, known as Evil Corp., which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury last year.

By imposing sanctions, the Treasury would have effectively made it illegal for any U.S. company to pay a ransom to get their files back.

During the outage, Garmin’s stock price fell from $102 to $94 per share. By afternoon trading on Monday, Garmin was up 3% to $100 per share.

Garmin is expected to report earnings on Wednesday.

Garmin global outage caused by ransomware attack, sources say

[kazvent]

Garmin empieza a recuperar sus servicios tras media semana secuestrados por un ataque con ransomware

https://ift.tt/2CHLtqh

Los usuarios de un dispositivo Garmin se despertaban este pasado jueves con una desagradable sorpresa. Sin previo aviso, muchos de los servicios de la compañía francesa habían dejado de funcionar, desde la sincronización de datos de los relojes dotados con Garmin Connect y Coach a otros potencialmente mucho más serios como el servicio de navegación aéreo flyGarmin, diseñado para los dispositivos de aviación de la empresa (muy populares entre pilotos privados y pequeñas flotas). Este apagón comienza ahora a solucionarse con la recuperación de algunos servicios básicos en sus relojes… Leer noticia completa y comentarios » from ElOtroLado.net https://ift.tt/2CR3NgC via IFTTT

[kindlecomparedinfo]

Garmin global outage caused by ransomware attack, sources say

An ongoing global outage at sport and fitness tech giant Garmin was caused by a ransomware attack, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the incident.

The incident began late Wednesday and continued through the weekend, causing disruption to the company’s online services for millions of users, including Garmin Connect, which syncs user activity and data to the cloud and other devices. The attack also took down flyGarmin, its aviation navigation and route-planning service.

Portions of Garmin’s website were also offline at the time of writing.

Garmin has said little about the incident so far. A banner on its website reads: “We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin.com and Garmin Connect. This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience.”

The two sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the press, told TechCrunch that Garmin was trying to bring its network back online after the ransomware attack. One of the sources confirmed that the WastedLocker ransomware was to blame for the outage.

One other news outlet appeared to confirm that the outage was caused by WastedLocker.

Garmin’s online services have been down for days. The cause is believed to be ransomware, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the incident. (Screenshot: TechCrunch)

WastedLocker is a new kind of ransomware, first discovered by security researchers at Malwarebytes in May, operated by a hacker group known as Evil Corp. Like other file-encrypting malware, WastedLocker infects computers, and locks the user’s files in exchange for a ransom, typically demanded in cryptocurrency.

Malwarebytes said that WastedLocker does not steal or exfiltrate data before encrypting the victim’s files, unlike other, newer ransomware strains. That means companies with backups may be able to escape paying the ransom. But companies without backups have faced ransom demands as much as $10 million.

The FBI has also long discouraged victims from paying ransoms related to malware attacks.

Evil Corp has a long history of malware and ransomware attacks. The group, allegedly led by a Russian national Maksim Yakubets, is known to have used Dridex, a powerful password-stealing malware that was used to steal more than $100 million from hundreds of banks over the past decade. Later, Dridex was also used as a way to deliver ransomware.

Yakubets, who remains at large, was indicted by the Justice Department last year for his alleged part in the group’s “unimaginable” amount of cybercrime during the past decade, according to U.S. prosecutors.

The Treasury also imposed sanctions on Evil Corp, including Yakubets and two other alleged members, for their involvement in the decade-long hacking campaign.

By imposing sanctions, it’s near-impossible for U.S.-based companies to pay the ransom — even if they wanted to — as U.S. nationals are “generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them,” per a Treasury statement.

Brett Callow, a threat analyst and ransomware expert at security firm Emsisoft, said those sanctions make it “especially complicated” for U.S.-based companies dealing with WastedLocker infections.

“WastedLocker has been attributed by some security companies to Evil Corp, and the known members of Evil Corp — which purportedly has loose connections to the Russian government — have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury,” said Callow. “As a result of those sanctions, U.S persons are generally prohibited from transacting with those known members. This would seem to create a legal minefield for any company which may be considering paying a WastedLocker ransom,” he said.

Efforts to contact the alleged hackers were unsuccessful. The group uses different email addresses in each ransom note. We sent an email to two known email addresses associated with a previous WastedLocker incident, but did not hear back.

A Garmin spokesperson could not be reached for comment by phone or email on Saturday. (Garmin’s email servers have been down since the start of the incident.) Messages sent over Twitter were also not returned. We’ll update if we hear back.

As ransomware gets craftier, companies must start thinking creatively

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8176395 https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/25/garmin-outage-ransomware-sources/ via http://www.kindlecompared.com/kindle-comparison/

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[mhsn033]

Garmin smartwatch users cannot get hands on data

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Garmin customers can’t currently file recordsdata from their smartwatches

Garmin, which makes GPS-enabled smartly being trackers and navigational utility, is struggling what it has described as an “outage”.

In step with ZDNet, workers have faith claimed on social media that the firm is the victim of a ransomware attack, nonetheless this has now not been confirmed.

Garmin Aviation said its flyGarmin online page and mobile app, vulnerable by pilots, had been additionally unavailable.

The firm’s manufacturing line in Taiwan is additionally believed to had been affected.

The issues mean that customers are now not currently ready to log into Garmin Join to file and analyse their smartly being and smartly being recordsdata.

And pilots who notify flyGarmin can’t currently receive up-to-date aviation databases, which is a correct requirement.

Media playback is unsupported for your tool

Media captionWhat is ransomware?

Ransomware is a kind of malware. It lets hackers take alter of a firm’s systems and encrypt their recordsdata, worrying price to beginning it. It’s customarily sent by technique of a malicious email hyperlink to workers.

Garmin has now not officially confirmed the cause within the motivate of its issues.

In an announcement it said: “We are currently experiencing an outage that impacts Garmin.com and Garmin Join. This outage additionally impacts our call centres and we’re currently unable to receive any calls, emails or on-line chats. Garmin are working to resolve this command as fleet as imaginable and apologise for the concern.”

Experts utter it appears to be like to be like admire a necessary command for the firm.

“Garmin’s infrastructure has suffered a massive failure, and although the firm has now not officially confirmed it, the finger of suspicion points strongly within the course of a ransomware attack,” wrote security consultant Graham Cluley.

“The hazard is now not most productive that smartly being lovers would perchance presumably honest now not be ready to file how many miles they jogged as of late. Garmin additionally presents services for aviators and sailors, meaning they’d perchance honest now not be ready to make notify of their trusted apps for weather stories or submitting flight plans.”

Mr Cluley added that smartly being tracker recordsdata would perchance presumably be a “admire trove” because it would indicate a user’s total blueprint historic previous.

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[limitlessaviation]

It's time we entered the #myflightgear contest. @garminaviation and @boseaviation have created a contest that was pretty fun to create. A tiny bit of help and some runway poaching, viola! 🚁❤️🌇🛩❤️🚁 Little known fact, I actually use the Garmin pilot app so I guess you could say I #flygarmin but then again, almost all of us use Garmin gps in one way or another. 250xl, 420, 430, 530 etc. 🚁❤️🌇🛩❤️🚁 1. @boseaviation a20. There is no other. 2. iPad (and iPhone) with @garminaviation pilot app 3. @flightflix rocksteady mount 4. @rayban shades 5. @streamlightinc portable illumination 6. @buckknives carbon chassis blade for seat belts in case of a ditch 7. @leathermantools for backup knife and tools 8. Chart supplement and chart 9. Knee board 10. @gopro 11. @canonusa camera and lenses 12. @roland_us recorder and aircraft interface cables 13. @sekonicglobal light meter 14. Pen #amazing. 🚁📸🌇#advertising #photography #sunset #nyc #newyorkcity #newyork #newyorklife #whyifly #landscape #helicopters #helicopter #pilotlife #pilotslife #instagramaviation #aviation #heli #helilife #flight #sunset #instapilot #picoftheday #photooftheday #photographer #twilight #wanderlust #love @boseaviation @canonusa @sikorskyair @garminaviation @mercedesamg @mbusa (at KMGJ)

[bbcbreakingnews]

Garmin services begin to come back online after ‘Russian hacker demanded $10m to restore systems’

Garmin services began to slowly return Monday morning after the company was hacked and allegedly held to ransom by Russian group Evil Corps, who demanded $10 million to restore their operation.

Tens of millions of people around the world found the firm’s GPS and fitness-trackers, including those used by runners, cyclists and pilots, down for a fifth day Sunday.  

Garmin is yet to comment on the service return or the hacking claims amid reports they were ordered to pay the ransom by the cybercriminal group headed by a 33-year-old Russian playboy hacker, Maksim Yakubets, who drives a customized $250,000 Lamborghini. 

The company had said on Twitter that its website and Garmin Connect fitness app had been offline since Thursday. It said the ‘flyGarmin’ site used for aviation databases was also down. Customers said Monday their services had ‘partially’ returned. One wrote: ‘For the first time in over 4 days, Garmin Connect seems sorta back up. It’s a bit touch and go, but it’s waking up.’

In December 2019, the FBI placed a $5 million bounty on Yakubets head for information leading to his capture. It is the largest reward being offered for an alleged criminal connected to cybercrime.

Yakubets’ latest target seems to have been Garmin, which has still offered no explanation for their outage, but security analysts said the reason is likely ransomware, a technique used by hackers to encrypt data and extort funds. The malware has been linked to a Russian cybercriminal group known as Evil Corp.

Maksim Yakubets speaks with a police officer. Yakubets drives a customized Lamborghini Huracan supercar with a personalized number plate that translates to the word ‘Thief’   

Maksim Viktorovich Yakubets, 33, is believed to be the head of Russian hacking group Evil Corp and responsible for the attack on Garmin’s systems. The FBI has a $5 million reward for information that leads to his capture

WHAT IS EVIL CORP?

Evil Corp is a Russia-based cybercriminal organization, headed by Maksim Yakubets, which is believed to be responsible for the ransomware attack against Garmin.

It has been described by officials as one of the most damaging criminal organizations on the internet. 

Yakubets is alleged to have run the operation since May 2009 from the basements of Moscow cafes. 

He is said to have employed dozens of people to steal money from victims in 43 countries using computer viruses that are designed to target only victims outside Russia. 

The ‘malware’ is downloaded when a victim clicks on an email attachment and remains hidden on their computer to harvest their personal and financial data such as online banking details – which is subsequently used to drain their accounts. 

In December, 15 people associated with the hacking group were sanctioned by the US treasury. Many are believed to be living in Moscow. 

‘Yakubets is a true 21st century criminal,’ U.S. Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said in December last year ‘He’s earned his place on the FBI’s list of the world’s most wanted cyber criminals.’ 

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In December 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Evil Corp after causing more than $100 million in financial damages in the American banking system. 

As a result, if Garmin had wanted to pay a ransom, it could potentially be found to be breaking United States sanctions.  

Yakubets is alleged to have run Evil Corp since May 2009 from the basements of Moscow cafes.

He is said to have employed dozens of people to steal money from victims in 43 countries using computer viruses that are designed to target only victims outside Russia.

The ‘malware’ is downloaded when a victim clicks on an email attachment and remains hidden on their computer to harvest their personal and financial data such as online banking details – which is subsequently used to drain their accounts.

Operating online under the name Aqua, the hacker and his associates are accused of stealing at least $100million. US treasury officials also say Yakubets has provided ‘direct assistance to the Russian government’ by acquiring confidential documents for the FSB security agency. 

He was also said to be part of a scheme in which Russian intelligence agencies recruit criminals to hack national security targets.

Yakubets, a Russian national originally from Ukraine, is still at large, as is his administrator Igor Turashev, 38.

In December, 15 people associated with the hacking group were sanctioned by the US treasury. Many are believed to be living in Moscow.

If Yakubets leaves Russia, he will be arrested and extradited to America to face charges. Financial sanctions have been imposed on him by the US, but privately, insiders say the chances of him setting foot outside Russia remain small.

Yakubets is known to be a flamboyant character and along with his flash cars, one of which is a customized Lamborghini with a number plate that reads THIEF in Russian, he is known to have splashed out on a pet tiger and lion cubs.

He is described as untouchable in the Russian capital, Moscow, where he regularly films himself driving ‘doughnuts’ around police, with tires screeching, in one of his fleet of supercars –  ‘cash rich with fast cars’ bought from the proceeds of fraud.

For a decade the multi-millionaire is said to have run the world’s most harmful cyber-crime group.

Yakubets, who has also worked for Russia’s FSB intelligence agency, is said to live like a king, splurging more than $250,000 on his wedding. 

He married at a golf club north of Moscow in summer 2017 to glamorous businesswoman Alyona Benderskaya.

She is believed to be the owner of a chain of Moscow stores selling Italian luxury clothing called Plein Sport and graduated from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow in 2014. Benderskaya is believed to be Yakubets’ second wife.

Her father, Yakubets’ father-in-law, is a former officer with an elite special-forces unit of the FSB, Eduard Bendersky but it is also believed that some of his spy work for the organization rubbed off on his daughter.  

Benderskaya is known to be a founder of several companies called Vympel-Aktiv and Vympel-Protekt which are linked to the FSB’s Special Purpose Center, known mainly for counterterrorism operations and ‘foreign sabotage operations’ according to RadioFreeEurope. 

In April 2018, Yakubets was in the process of obtaining a license to work with classified Russian information from the Russian spy agency, the FSB – the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.

The FSB was the main successor agency to the KGB. 

Yakubets was also responsible for recruiting and managing a network of individuals to Evil Corps who would then be responsible for facilitating the movement of money illicitly.

Yakubets was married at a golf club north of Moscow in summer 2017 to glamorous businesswoman Alyona Benderskaya who runs a chain of Italian luxury clothing stores

Maksim Yakubets’ wedding in 2017 to Alyona Benderskaya whose father-in-law works for FSB

Yakubets’ father-in-law, is a former officer with an elite special-forces unit of the FSB, Eduard Bendersky but it is also believed that some of his spy work for the organization rubbed off on his daughter and she is now also involved in some of the FSB-related ‘charities’ that he sits on 

Over the past five days, Garmin, a company valued at $18 billion, is said to have become Yakubets’ latest target. On Sunday night, even the company’s website was unable to load properly. 

The security news website Bleeping Computer described Garmin as being attacked by the WastedLocker ransomware. The ransomware attack works by encrypting the company’s data, rendering it inaccessible to employees. Evil Corp is said to  have demanded a $10 million ransom for the data to be freed up.     

Screenshots show lists of the company’s files encrypted by the malware, with a ransom note individually attached to each file.

The note tells the recipient to contact one of two email addresses to ‘get a price for your data’.

It is not clear whether any customer data has been compromised, as the tech firm continues to investigate and works to resolve the matter.  

Files shared from a Garmin employee show how a ransomeware file had been attached to each one giving the user details of what to do next in order to retrieve their data

A tweet shows the email address that Garmin workers were told to email in order to restore access to their data

A note from the hackers has been attached to every single data file within Garmin’s systems along with details as to how the company will be able to restore access after paying a ransom

The company’s communication systems have also been disabled and it now appears to be unable to respond to frustrated and disgruntled customers

The navigation company was hit by a ransomware attack on Thursday with customers unable to log their fitness sessions in Garmin apps ever since

An outage map shows just how big of a problem the company’s apps are experiencing

In the past, Evil Corp targeted banks primarily located in the United States and the United Kingdom. 

They developed Dridex software, which was spread using phishing emails that would entice victims to click on malicious links or attachments embedded within the emails. 

Evil Corp would then use compromised credentials to fraudulently transfer funds from victims’ bank accounts to those of bank accounts controlled by the group. 

Yakubets and his co-conspirators are alleged to have victimized 21 specific municipalities, banks, companies and nonprofit organizations in California, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington.

Evil Corp is known to be one of the world’s most prolific cybercriminal organizations and operates as a business run by a group of individuals based in Moscow, Russia. 

In June, it was revealed how Evil Corp had breached 31 major American corporations with a new ransomware attack targeting employees working from home.

The cybersecurity firm Symantec first announced the breach and attributed it to WastedLocker.

The FBI is offering a $5 million reward for info that leads to the capture of Maksim Yakubets who is known to work directly with the Russian government in carrying out malicious cyber attacks

Maksim Yakubets is pictured second from left along with other Evil Corp members who allegedly ‘provide material assistance’ including, from left, Kirill Slobodskoy, Dimitriy Slobodskoy, in red shirt and Artem Yakubets, far right   

Evil Corp members Kirill Slobodskoy, Dmitry Smirnov and Denis Gusev pictured in Dubai

Evil Corp declined to disclose the identities of the other targeted companies, but they include eight Fortune 500 companies and one major news publication. 

‘These hackers have a decade of experience and they aren’t wasting time with small, two-bit outfits,’ Symantec’s Eric Chien told the New York Times.

‘They are going after the biggest American firms, and only American firms.’ 

According to Chien, WastedLocker is part of a major expansion in hacking attempts focused specifically at major American business and government services in recent months.

‘Security firms have been accused of crying wolf, but what we have seen in the past few weeks is remarkable,’ Chien said.

‘Right now this is all about making money, but the infrastructure they are deploying could be used to wipe out a lot of data — and not just at corporations.’ 

According to Symantec, the ransomware is first downloaded on a worker’s computer after clicking a malicious software update window.

Once installed on the person’s computer, the ransomware begins unlocking permissions on the remote corporate network the person is connected to, with the goal of eventually locking the entire company out of its own systems to extract a ransom payment.

According to Symantec, the software update window that initiates the entire process could have come from from any one of 150 legitimate websites whose security Evil Corp has breached.

WastedLocker is part of a major expansion in hacking attempts focused specifically at major American business and government services in recent months. 

Russian native Yakubets owns a customized Lamborghini with a number plate that reads THIEF in Russian (pictured). He provided a ‘malware’ software which was downloaded by people who clicked on an email attachment which arrived in their inbox and stole their bank details

A Lamborghini Huracan and Audi R8 which were apparently used by Evil Corp members

One of Maksim’s supercars which has been intricately designed and customized 

Worldwide, cybercrime results in losses that total in the billions of dollars, while in the United States, financial institutions and other businesses remain prime targets for cybercriminals but Evil Corp relies upon a number of core individuals to carry out critical logistical, technical, and financial functions.

Essentially the group is run like a legitimate business with someone in charge of managing the malware software with others supervising the operators seeking to target new victims, and laundering the proceeds derived from the group’s activities.

Some of the other members cited for allegedly ‘providing material assistance’ in this way, according to the U.S. Treasury, are Dmitriy Smirnov, Artem Yakubets, Ivan Tuchkov, Andrey Plotnitskiy, Dmitriy Slobodskoy and Kirill Slobodskoy. 

Andrey Plotnitskiy, who authorities identified as another member of Evil Corp

Maksim Yakubets, 32, left, has been named the world’s biggest cyber criminal running Evil Corp. Igor Turashev, right, is also allegedly involved in helping Evil Corp exploit victims’ networks. As of 2015, Turashev served as an administrator for Yakubets and had control over the Dridex malware software

Evil Corp have long been behind international computer hacking and bank fraud schemes, which allow members of the group to purchase supercars such as this Audi

The Garmin Connect software can be seen unsuccessfully attempting to contact the company’s servers to upload fitness data. The experience has frustrated customers 

One Twitter user posted a image that showed how their Garmin smartwatch was not able to be updated

The ransomware attack has led to a shutdown of many of Garmin’s systems. 

Employees working from home connecting by VPN were also cut off from Garmin’s systems in an effort to halt the spread of the ransomware across its network. 

Garmin been largely silent on the outage. On Saturday the company tweeted ‘We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin Connect. This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience.’  

Brent Callow, a threat analyst at the security firm Emsisoft, said he had no firsthand knowledge but that it ‘certainly has all the hallmarks of a ransomware incident.

‘There is really no other event that would be likely to cause such widespread disruption and cause a company to immediately shut down everything from its online services to its production line,’ Callow said.

Garmin’s online fitness tracking service was also offline leaving runners and cyclists unable to upload data from their latest workouts.

Garmin Connect, an app and website that works with the company’s popular line of fitness watches, remained out of service on Sunday. The company apologized for the disruption at the end of last week when it indicated the problem was more widespread and also affected its communications systems.  

Some Garmin users were furious that the company had not explained the reason for its outage in five days while other mocked those who claimed it was disrupting their exercise routines

Garmin Aviation, which provides cockpit navigation and communication services, said on its Facebook page its ‘flyGarmin’ website and mobile app were down.   

Fitness enthusiasts took to social media to vent their frustrations about not being able to use the service.

Runners said that while the outage doesn’t stop them from training, not being able to use Garmin Connect means they can’t track their workout data or share their routes on Strava, a social network for runners and cyclists. 

Atlanta tech executive Caroline Dunn, who runs five days a week and finished the New York Marathon in 2018, said the outage means she and her running friends can’t send each other kudos – Strava’s version of Facebook’s likes – to encourage each other. 

‘We’re not doing this for our health, we’re doing this so that we can brag to our friends,’ Dunn said lightheartedly. ‘Now that we’re all social distancing, I don’t run in a group with my friends and they don’t watch me run. I have to brag online to my friends about all of my runs.’

The outage is also preventing athletes from proving that they’ve completed virtual runs that are replacing the many races cancelled because of the pandemic, Dunn said. Runners who use the Garmin system can’t be ranked because they can’t submit GPS data to organizers.

A selection of Garmin’s most popular products is shown above in a file photo

Smartwatch maker Garmin is suffering widespread outages after it was reportedly targeted in a ransomware attack. A notification about the update is seen on the company’s website

Connecticut runner Megan Flood saw the prolonged outage as both a curse and a blessing.

‘It’s frustrating in part because my Garmin is connected to my Strava (fitness app), and I like the community aspect on Strava,’ Flood, 27, said Friday. ‘But sometimes not being so connected to my device is nice. I’ve run some of my best races when I forgot my watch or covered my watch face, so I find there are pros and cons to be so connected to a watch.’ 

Tech-savvy users shared a workaround: plug the watch into a computer with a USB cable and manually transfer the files.

Some users also complained that Garmin’s lack of communication was a bigger problem. 

Some Twitter users were quick to mock the situation Garmin and its wearers find themselves

The post Garmin services begin to come back online after ‘Russian hacker demanded $10m to restore systems’ appeared first on BBC BREAKING NEWS.

from WordPress https://bbcbreakingnews.com/garmin-services-begin-to-come-back-online-after-russian-hacker-demanded-10m-to-restore-systems/

[alpaca1]

ランサムウェア攻撃によってGarminが世界的に停止

事件を直接知っている2つの情報筋よれば、スポーツおよびフィットネステック大手のGarmin（ガーミン）が現在世界中で直面している障害は、ランサムウェア攻撃によるものだ。

障害は米国時間7月22日の終わりに始まり、週末まで続いているため、同社のオンラインサービスを使う何百万ものユーザーに対してに混乱が引き起こされている。影響を受けたサービスには、ユーザーのアクティビティとデータをクラウドや他のデバイスに同期するGarmin Connectも含まれている。この攻撃はまた、航空航行ならびにルート計画サービスであるflyGarminも停止させた。Garminのウェブサイトの一部も記事執筆時にはオフラインのままだった。

Garminはこれまでのところ、事件についてほとんど語っていない。そのウェブサイトのバナーには次のように書かれている。「現在、Garmin.comならびにGarmin…

[un-enfant-immature]

Garmin global outage caused by ransomware attack, sources say

An ongoing global outage at sport and fitness tech giant Garmin was caused by a ransomware attack, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the incident.

The incident began late Wednesday and continued through the weekend, causing disruption to the company’s online services for millions of users, including Garmin Connect, which syncs user activity and data to the cloud and other devices. The attack also took down flyGarmin, its aviation navigation and route-planning service.

Portions of Garmin’s website were also offline at the time of writing.

Garmin has said little about the incident so far. A banner on its website reads: “We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin.com and Garmin Connect. This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience.”

The two sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the press, told TechCrunch that Garmin was trying to bring its network back online after the ransomware attack. One of the sources confirmed that the WastedLocker ransomware was to blame for the outage.

One other news outlet appeared to confirm that the outage was caused by WastedLocker.

Garmin’s online services have been down for days. The cause is believed to be ransomware, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the incident. (Screenshot: TechCrunch)

WastedLocker is a new kind of ransomware, first discovered by security researchers at Malwarebytes in May, operated by a hacker group known as Evil Corp. Like other file-encrypting malware, WastedLocker infects computers, and locks the user’s files in exchange for a ransom, typically demanded in cryptocurrency.

Malwarebytes said that WastedLocker does not steal or exfiltrate data before encrypting the victim’s files, unlike other, newer ransomware strains. That means companies with backups may be able to escape paying the ransom. But companies without backups have faced ransom demands as much as $10 million.

The FBI has also long discouraged victims from paying ransoms related to malware attacks.

Evil Corp has a long history of malware and ransomware attacks. The group, allegedly led by a Russian national Maksim Yakubets, is known to have used Dridex, a powerful password-stealing malware that was used to steal more than $100 million from hundreds of banks over the past decade. Later, Dridex was also used as a way to deliver ransomware.

Yakubets, who remains at large, was indicted by the Justice Department last year for his alleged part in the group’s “unimaginable” amount of cybercrime during the past decade, according to U.S. prosecutors.

The Treasury also imposed sanctions on Evil Corp, including Yakubets and two other alleged members, for their involvement in the decade-long hacking campaign.

By imposing sanctions, it’s near-impossible for U.S.-based companies to pay the ransom — even if they wanted to — as U.S. nationals are “generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them,” per a Treasury statement.

Brett Callow, a threat analyst and ransomware expert at security firm Emsisoft, said those sanctions make it “especially complicated” for U.S.-based companies dealing with WastedLocker infections.

“WastedLocker has been attributed by some security companies to Evil Corp, and the known members of Evil Corp — which purportedly has loose connections to the Russian government — have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury,” said Callow. “As a result of those sanctions, U.S persons are generally prohibited from transacting with those known members. This would seem to create a legal minefield for any company which may be considering paying a WastedLocker ransom,” he said.

Efforts to contact the alleged hackers were unsuccessful. The group uses different email addresses in each ransom note. We sent an email to two known email addresses associated with a previous WastedLocker incident, but did not hear back.

A Garmin spokesperson could not be reached for comment by phone or email on Saturday. (Garmin’s email servers have been down since the start of the incident.) Messages sent over Twitter were also not returned. We’ll update if we hear back.

As ransomware gets craftier, companies must start thinking creatively

[ourgarminmapsuniverse-blog]

Garmin Connect Account Is Paired but Not syncing data

While Garmin GPS map update if your Garmin Connect account is not syncing data, then use these troubleshooting steps.

·        Close the Garmin Connect App and reopen it.

·        Power off the Garmin device and then power back on.

·        Restart the smartphone.

·        Remove then add back the Garmin Device with Garmin Account.

If you’re Garmin GPS troubleshooting stopped working then close the account and power off the device and computer to restart them.

This should resolve most of your data syncing and troubleshooting issues.

Guide on how to upgrade Garmin GPS

Having a Garmin GPS device is a USB – no asking for the address from a passerby or being confused about routes. However, the device needs to have the latest maps for more effective and accurate roads. Garmin GPS map update is easy if you install Garmin Express software.  

Follow these steps to upgrade GPS

·        Connect your device with the computer.

·        Once connected, install Garmin Express.

·        After installing Garmin Express, you will have to Access or Purchase the map updates.

·        After updating is complete, disconnect the device from the system.

·        And install back your GPS system in the vehicle.

Does it cost to update Garmin GPS?

A frequent change in routes is common and to upgrade Garmin GPS becomes essential. Garmin asks you to pay for most of its Garmin GPS map updates if you have recently purchased a Garmin device you are luck! , you may qualify for a lifetime map update. Lifetime map update means the life span of the device you are using.

·        The 90 days offer on Garmin automotive GPS device, starts ticking when the device catches satellites for the first time.

·        All updates that are purchased should be installed by Garmin Express.

·        The golf course maps come with free lifetime map updates.

·        The cycling devices come with paid street and topographical map updates.

·        A free flyGarmin account enables you to purchase and download paid aviation database updates.

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