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By Jasmine Laws and Toby Meyjes
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Stryker, a major U.S. medical technology company, has said that its products are "fully safe to use" after it was targeted in a cyberattack that has been linked to a group of Iran‑aligned hackers.
In an update early Thursday, the firm said it was continuing to resolve the disruption caused by the cyberattack, but added there was no indication of malware or ransomware with the situation contained to its "internal Microsoft environment" only.
"Our products like Mako, Vocera and LIFEPAK35 are fully safe to use," it added.
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"We have visibility to the orders entered before the event, and they will be shipped as soon as our system communications are restored. Any orders that have come in after the event are being examined.
"We are working to ensure our electronic ordering system is back up and running as quickly as possible.
"It is safe to communicate with Stryker employees and sales representatives by email and phone, and within your facility."
Why It Matters
The attack came almost two weeks after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, kick-starting ongoing conflict in the region.
On Wednesday, a Stryker spokesperson told Newsweek that the company was "experiencing a global network disruption to our Microsoft environment as a result of a cyberattack."
They added that they had "no indication of ransomware or malware" and that they understood the incident to be "contained."
A branding associated with "Handala," a hacktivist name often linked to Iran, was said to be found on internal systems by cybersecurity analysts, although Stryker has not confirmed who was responsible for the attack, with officials cautioning it remains under investigation.
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What To Know
Stryker is a global technology company, operating in dozens of countries, that specializes in products and services for a wide range of medical fields, including orthopedics, surgical equipment, neurotechnology, and spine care.
The attack meant that employees in multiple countries were unable to access their emails, internal tools and work devices.
In Ireland, it was reported that the attack affected thousands of workers, including staff at Stryker’s large operations in Cork, one of the company’s biggest international hubs.
The "Handala" group has been identified by the IBM X-Force Exchange as a "pro-Palestinian, Iran‑aligned hacktivist threat group that emerged in late 2023 following the onset of the Gaza conflict."
According to The Wall Street Journal, the group posted on Telegram that the hack was in retaliation for a strike on an elementary school, which Iranian state media said killed over 160 children.
Preliminary findings from an ongoing internal U.S. military investigation have determined the U.S. was responsible in a targeting error, according to The New York Times, citing U.S. officials and others familiar with probe.
A Pentagon spokesperson told Newsweek that "the incident is under investigation." President Donald Trump previously blamed Iran for the bombing.
After the attack was reported on Wednesday shares of the Michigan-headquartered company dropped by around 4 percent.
Irish media described the incident as a "wiper attack," which is defined by Crowdstrike, an American cybersecurity company, as "a form of malware engineered to destroy or corrupt data on targeted systems."
These can cause irreversible damage by deleting "critical files and data" and cause "severe business disruptions," Crowdstrike says.
The company adds that wiper attacks have been "used in geopolitical conflicts to disrupt communications and even impact utilities."
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