US medical tech firm Stryker hacked, pro-Iran group claims credit

It potentially marks the first known major cyberdisruption of a US organisation since the start of the Iran war. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Washington – A cyberattack against US medical technology maker Stryker crippled the company’s global operations, according to a person familiar with the matter and a memo seen by Bloomberg News.

A pro-Iranian digital activist group, Handala, has claimed credit for the incident, potentially marking the first known major cyberdisruption of an American organisation since joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran. Neither the company nor any cybersecurity agency has confirmed that an Iranian group was behind the incident. 

Many Stryker employees worldwide are unable to work and have been sent home from offices and told to avoid connecting to any Stryker networks or software on any device, according to the person. Some employees have also seen data on their devices wiped as a result of the attack, the person added.

Shares of Stryker were down as much as 5.3 per cent after the Wall Street Journal reported on the matter.

“Stryker is experiencing a global network disruption to our Microsoft environment as a result of a cyberattack,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. 

“We have no indication of ransomware or malware and believe the incident is contained,” the spokesperson added.