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Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

zdnet.com

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Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#11

Post by lxgr »

amelius wrote: post #7
somecommit wrote: post #4

I precisely like garmin watches because if you don't setup their bluetooth, you are not tracked by anyone, it's not required to connect to servers etc... It's enough for me because I only need to check BPM.

Of course there isn't any guarantee that at some point, some marketing manager won't decide to break that.

How could that happen for an existing, standalone device?

(Assuming there aren't any time bombs waiting in the code only to be fixed by a firmware update, like the GPS week number epoch rollover, of course.)

Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#12

Post by Molpot »

Has anybody tried to reverse engineer garmin's bluetooth protocols? I often want to buy one of their smartwatches but the idea of having to install proprietary software on my phone kind of puts me off. I'd love to write my own software but I don't have any experience doing bluetooth RE.

Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#13

Post by barbegal »

Molpot wrote: post #12

Has anybody tried to reverse engineer garmin's bluetooth protocols? I often want to buy one of their smartwatches but the idea of having to install proprietary software on my phone kind of puts me off. I'd love to write my own software but I don't have any experience doing bluetooth RE.

You can just get the activity files off the watch via USB if that would work for you.

https://support.garmin.com/en-GB/?faq=Ht3ZP52Kju075uKvqTqu99...

Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#14

Post by wil421 »

paozac wrote: post #9
exabrial wrote: post #6

Their products are designed to work offline. Despite the cloud being down I have full local functionality right now. (Though I can't see my history, surprised they don't cache that locally). Last year when I did a 9-day canoe trip with no cell phone reception, all of my Garmin gear worked flawlessly (wearables, navigation devices, and their offline map app). Can't say the same about my friends iWatches/fitbits or eve…

Do they? Last Garmin product I had was a Vivosmart HR: an internet connection and a Garmin connect account was required to change basic settings such as the display orientation. And there was no way to disable syncing.

The Vivosmart is more like a Fitbit. I don’t see it as a stand-alone device.

Does it still count steps and track your heart rate without internet?

Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#15

Post by wil421 »

Molpot wrote: post #12

Has anybody tried to reverse engineer garmin's bluetooth protocols? I often want to buy one of their smartwatches but the idea of having to install proprietary software on my phone kind of puts me off. I'd love to write my own software but I don't have any experience doing bluetooth RE.

What phone to do you own that doesn’t require proprietary software? What wearable doesn’t require installing an App on your iPhone or android?

Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#16

Post by mns »

danielbln wrote: post #2

For many many hours already, including SSO, their webshop, and all of Garmin connect. The devices can't sync anymore, the mobile apps are all but useless and Garmin has yet to comment on any of this. Yikes.

It's weird that everything Garmin related is down. I wonder if they got hacked or something similar and just took everything offline.

Their response is also weird, seems like internal infrastructure is also down.

"We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin Connect, and as a result, the Garmin Connect website and mobile app are down at this time. 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."

Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#18

Post by Molpot »

wil421 wrote: post #15
Molpot wrote: post #12

Has anybody tried to reverse engineer garmin's bluetooth protocols? I often want to buy one of their smartwatches but the idea of having to install proprietary software on my phone kind of puts me off. I'd love to write my own software but I don't have any experience doing bluetooth RE.

What phone to do you own that doesn’t require proprietary software? What wearable doesn’t require installing an App on your iPhone or android?

I'm currently using a Sony Xperia X running Sailfish OS but I'd like to switch to a Pinephone running Postmarket OS.

Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#19

Post by Molpot »

barbegal wrote: post #13
Molpot wrote: post #12

Has anybody tried to reverse engineer garmin's bluetooth protocols? I often want to buy one of their smartwatches but the idea of having to install proprietary software on my phone kind of puts me off. I'd love to write my own software but I don't have any experience doing bluetooth RE.

You can just get the activity files off the watch via USB if that would work for you. https://support.garmin.com/en-GB/?faq=Ht3ZP52Kju075uKvqTqu99...

Thanks but it doesn't, I want a watch to keep track of my swimming training, I'm afraid using USB connectors would make the watch less waterproof.

Re: Garmin services and production go down after ransomware attack

#20

Post by rightbyte »

wil421 wrote: post #17

Recently I was looking into Fish finders. Garmin has some cool tech and their maps are great. I’ll have to make sure I don’t get a connected device.

Having your gps time-out on you might be lethal. Imagine an hypothetical auto update bricking all gps devices in the group on a mountain top or the sea and relying on a compass and map if you were smart enought to bring it.

Not having a gps makes many endouvers just that much more risky.

Edit: made it clear it is a hypothetical scenario

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