US Medtech Giant Stryker Hit by Iran-Linked Cyber Attack

A cyberattack targeting US medical equipment provider Stryker has disrupted its global networks. The attack, believed to be carried out by a hacking group linked to Iran, impacted Stryker’s internal Microsoft environment, leading to the deletion of information from devices. According to an employee interviewed by NBC News, company phones stopped working, halting work and communications.

In a recent SEC filing, Stryker disclosed the attack and stated that the full scope of its operational and financial impact is still unknown. The company is currently unable to provide a timeline for full restoration. As of 12:32AM ET on Thursday, Stryker was working to bring its systems back online as quickly as possible.

Stryker has assured that its products like Mako, Vocera, and LIFEPAK35 are safe to use and that the cyberattack appears to be contained within its internal Microsoft environment. The company continues to work on resolving the network disruption caused by the attack.

The attack, claimed by an Iranian-linked hacker group called Handala, reportedly extracted 50 terabytes of critical data from Stryker and wiped over 200,000 systems, servers, and mobile devices. Evidence linking Handala to the attack includes the appearance of the group’s logo on Stryker employee login pages. This cyberattack is the first significant one since the conflict between the US and Iran.

The impact of the attack extends to all of Stryker’s operations in Europe, Asia, and the US. An employee at the company’s Cork, Ireland site, the largest outside of the US, stated that work has come to a halt as most company devices have been wiped.

The employee expressed concern about the significant disruption caused by the attack, emphasizing the uncertainty and potential consequences for the company’s operations.