How Monitoring and Protection 24/7 Could Have Saved the Garmin Reputation?

In the modern world, ransomware attacks have become commonplace. Criminal organizations with the goal of running their cyber operations on a fairly large scale, choose large companies, and do their best to remain invisible.

One of the world’s largest cyberattacks

Over the past few months, the Internet has been filled with news about a massive cyberattack on Garmin, a company mostly known for its GPS navigation devices. For several days the company could not function normally - the website was down, production was stopped, people could not contact support centers, some flyGarmin services were also disabled.

What happened?

Garmin was attacked by hackers using a ransomware tool called WastedLocker. WastedLocker is a tool developed by Russians associated with the hacker group called Evil Corp. This ransomware encrypts information and programs in the company’s digital infrastructure, but does not steal them for ransom. Instead of demanding money for information, the attackers demand a decryption key. In Garmin’s case, the key cost $10 million.

What about users? Has the data integrity been compromised?

The analysts who conducted the WastedLocker research, claim that no data export occurred during the attack. This means that no Garmin user data was not compromised.

“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 operations within the next few days,” – Garmin said in a statement.

Strangely, Garmin did not inform users about the attack, how it dealt with it and how the company plans to prevent such attacks in the future.

So, the global policy to fight cyber attacks is now not very transparent. However, it is the transparency of such actions that is extremely important to preserve the reputation of companies fighting cybercriminals. As a result, Garmin not only suffered at the hands of hackers and paid an incredible amount of ransom, but also lost the trust of users and reputation in the world of technology by choosing a policy of hiding the reality.

What steps can be taken to improve a company’s cybersecurity?

Steps should be taken to prevent ransomware from entering corporate systems. When it comes to cybersecurity, it is worth using a 24/7 monitoring and protection service provided by specialists in this field, for example, the Datami.ua company. 24/7 monitoring includes:

– Installation of an intelligent security system on the site to protect your business from intruders.

– 24/7 monitoring of website safety, availability and efficiency.

– Complete site security.

All you have to do is sign up for monitoring. Immediately after creating a profile, the site will be under round-the-clock security monitoring and protection from external threats. At the same time, the website’s performance will increase.

How does 24/7 monitoring and protection work?

Datami uses the world’s leading Cloudflare technology. When developing testing tools, we use standard OWASP TOP 10, SANS TOP 25 and commercial monitoring tools: Burp Suite Pro, Acunetix, Nexpose. Cloudflare’s market capitalization as of January 2025 stands at approximately $37.36 billion, reflecting significant growth from its previous valuation of $3.2 billion during a venture funding round.

Cloudflare’s global network has also expanded substantially, now spanning over 295 cities worldwide. This vast infrastructure connects to more than 12,500 networks, including major internet providers, public cloud services, SaaS platforms, and enterprises, emphasizing Cloudflare's pivotal role in ensuring internet performance and security on a global scale.

Cloudflare powers more than 20 million websites. According to Cloudflare, it provides response times of less than 100 milliseconds to 98% of Internet users in developed countries, and for 93% of users worldwide. (To put this in perspective, an eye blink takes 300-400 milliseconds). Cloudflare receives three billion bot requests per day.

To protect businesses on the Internet, Datami specialists work according to the following algorithm:

1. Receiving a request and providing a free consultation.
2. Discussing and agreeing on a diagnostic and auditing plan according to individual need.
3. Signing a service contract and NDA.
4. Receiving payment and the necessary access in accordance with the selected format of work Black, White, Gray Box.
5. Carrying out work within 4-5 business days.
6. Providing a detailed report and recommendations for site security.

Returning to the cyberattack on Garmin, we can conclude that the company could have prevented such financial losses by using a 24/7 monitoring and protection service. After all, information and programs would have been sufficiently protected for cyber defense, allowing specialists to respond to an attack in time.

Conclusions

Organizations around the world are impacted by cyberattacks every day. In 2023, the global economy lost approximately $8 trillion due to digital crimes and cyberattacks, and this figure is projected to rise to $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.

These digital frauds affect organizations' finances, reputations, staff, and operations. The average ransom demanded in ransomware attacks continues to surge, underscoring the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures.

In today’s world, cybercrime brings more profit to cybercriminals than any other type of crime, so it is predictable that digital attacks will continue to occur. Whether or not to pay a ransom depends on individual circumstances. Graham Cluley, an award-winning blogger, podcaster, and security speaker, emphasizes this point:

“It’s a decision only you can ultimately make. Keep in mind that the more companies that pay a ransom, the more the criminals are to launch similar attacks in the future. At the same time, you may feel that your company needs to make the difficult but pragmatic decision to pay the criminals if you feel that your company cannot survive otherwise.”

It is imperative to understand that a company can suffer not only from the short-term, but also from the long-term consequences of a cyberattack. Therefore, business owners need to find ways to secure their online activities. And one of the best ways is to order monitoring and protection 24/7 from Datami.