Garmin is bringing its fitness service back online after being down last week due to problems caused by an IT outage However, the issue may be related to a cyberattack

Users of Garmin devices will begin to notice that their workouts are not syncing with the Garmin Connect app again That data has not been updated since Friday, but may not have been lost And while that data should also sync with third-party fitness apps like Strava, the large amount of delayed data may mean it will take a week or so before it appears on that service

Currently, Garmin Connect's system status is set to "restricted" as is the ConnectIQ service, but other services like Garmin Drive and Garmin Golf are fully online Also, features such as Challenge & Connections and Courses are restricted, but activity tracking and data uploading are back online

In short, like a runner with a hamstring injury, Garmin's services are limping back online However, it is not yet clear what caused the outage What is currently known is as follows

On July 23, Garmin tweeted that it was experiencing an "outage" affecting its Garmin Connect service, resulting in its website and app being down In addition, the outage is also affecting the company's call center, making it very difficult for users to find out why their activity data is not being recorded on their Garmin devices

"Garmin is currently experiencing an outage affecting Garmin services, including Garmin Connect As a result of the outage, some features and services on these platforms are unavailable," the company states on its site In addition, our product support call center is also affected by the outage, and as a result, we are currently unable to accept phone calls, emails, or online chats"

However, the outage lasted several days, and service did not truly return until July 27 Thus, it appeared that more than a simple IT outage was afoot

The cybersecurity site BleepingComputer reported sources who experienced the outage firsthand, claiming that the outage was entirely due to a ransomware attack that locked down part of Garmin's system Screenshots allegedly shared by Garmin employees show system files locked under the name "GarminWasted"

BleepingComputer speculates that the culprit behind the file lock is the WastedLocker ransomware Security firm Malwarebytes attributes WastedLocker to the Evil Corp group of hackers They use ransomware to extort money from their targets in exchange for unlocking files

And WastedLocker is not random ransomware Rather, it can be configured to attack specific organizations, indicating that this alleged cyberattack on Garmin was premeditated

Garmin has yet to comment on the alleged cyberattack However, ZDnet reported that Taiwanese technology media outlet iThorne claimed that a memo was sent to Garmin's Taiwanese production facility stating that its servers and data centers had been attacked It also stated that production of Garmin devices would have to be halted for two days because of IT maintenance

This maintenance is supposed to be Garmin restoring system data from offline backups to preserve data This takes time, which may have delayed Garmin's ability to bring its services back online However, there are no reports that Garmin really has such a backup system

Alternatively, it is possible that Garmin is trying to crack past the ransomware They are not going to pay the cybercriminals behind the ransomware attack Again, we are a bit in the dark on this, as Garmin has yet to reveal anything about this

Yes, at least according to Garmin's FAQ on the outage, "There is no indication that this outage affected your data, including activity, payments, or other personal information "And various users have noted that their data has returned to Garmin Connect

What is not safe is Garmin's reputation Many Garmin device users have taken to Twitter to lament the company's slow response to the outage and when they will be able to record their activity again

Some of this anger has been balanced by people making fun of the fact that Garmin users seem to be obsessed with recording all their activity rather than simply enjoying exercise

Buy a Fitbit Seriously, you may have to wait patiently until Garmin smoothly resumes all services, data is collected, and synced with Garmin Connect

However, if you are a Strava user and really want to upload your data, you can manually upload the data yourself To do so, you will need to connect the cable you used to charge your fitness tracking device to your Windows 10 or macOS machine

Once you have done so, the device should appear as an accessible drive You will then need to open it and access the Garmin folder Inside that folder, you will see a prominently named 'FIT' fly This is where your activity data is stored

Once you have selected the most recent one and saved it to any folder on your desktop or PC, you can upload it to Strava via the service's website after logging into your account The options for uploading are located in the top right-hand corner

Even if the service does not come back online, and even if it takes a while, many may be content to wait until their data is synced; we will update this article if there are any major updates from Garmin