Garmin hit with massive outage in suspected ransomware attack

(CNN) Garmin (GRMN), the GPS and wearable device company, says a widespread blackout has left its fitness devices, website and call centers offline for more than 24 hours in what may be a ransomware attack.

"We are currently experiencing an outage that affects Garmin.com and Garmin Connect," the company announced on Twitter and the Garmin Connect website. "This outage also affects our call centers, and we are currently unable to receive any calls, emails or online chats."

Garmin Connect allows users to track and analyze their fitness activities using the Garmin website and app. Since Thursday, however, the outage has prevented new downloads of the app, and the website was still shut down as of midday Friday Eastern Time.

Aviation also appears to have been affected. The tech news website ZDNet reports that pilots were unable to download the newest version of Garmin's GPS software, flyGarmin, which the FAA requires to be up-to-date. The Garmin Pilot app, which pilots use to plan flight paths, was also down.

Some Garmin employees say the outage is connected to a new strain of ransomware called WastedLocker, according to ZDNet. Garmin did not immediately respond to a request for comment, however, and CNN Business has not been able to independently verify that a virus caused the outage.