Following reports last week that Garmin was hit by a ransomware attack by WastedLocker, Garmin issued a statement confirming that its systems had suffered a "cyber attack" but that it expects to "return to normal operations in the coming days."

The malware affected more than just cycling services, such as Strava uploads, and Garmin's automotive and aviation divisions also suffered outages, but the Garmin System Status page (opens in new tab) confirms that the company's services are back to full operation and beginning to do so, indicating a mix of "online" or "restricted" status for various services.

See Garmin (opens in new tab) to view the statements or for answers to frequently asked questions.

In its statement, Garmin does not confirm the exact nature of the cyberattack or mention ransomware. In the days following the outage, it was widely reported that an anonymous source within the company admitted that the WastedLocker ransomware was the cause.

We previously reported that the ride was beginning to resynchronize with Strava, and in the days since, there has been speculation among news and technical publications as to how Garmin resolved the issue.

According to a December 2019 press release, Evil Corp, the Russian-based group behind the hack, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. The press release states: "U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with [Evil Corp]," which essentially means that Garmin's payment of the ransom was illegal.

The Sky News article (opens in new tab) explains that Garmin obtained the decryption keys, but the article uses an interesting phrase: "Sources familiar with Garmin's case, who spoke to Sky News on condition of anonymity, said the NASDAQ-listed American multinational the Nasdaq-listed U.S. multinational, said it did not pay the hacker directly.

Forbes has since speculated that the $10 million could be tax deductible, and an expert speaking to the Times (opens in new tab) explained that Garmin "must have paid the ransom."

Beyond the obvious legal implications, another broader consideration at hand is whether paying the ransom would open Garmin up to other opportunistic hackers who have come to view American brands as easy targets. While the company vehemently denies that any sensitive data was compromised, customers may not be so lucky next time if their brands are the target of future attacks.

Cycling News has asked Garmin for an explanation, but has yet to hear back.