Stryker now prioritising restoring customer systems and logistics after cyber attack

Stryker is headquartered in Cork and employs 5,000 workers in Ireland

Stryker, Model Farm Road, Cork.

Medical device maker Stryker said on Tuesday it has contained a cyberattack that caused widespread disruption to its business and was now prioritising restoring systems that directly support customers, ordering, and shipping.

Stryker is headquartered in Michigan and employs 5,000 workers in Ireland, part of a 56,000-strong global workforce operating in 61 countries. The cyberattack on March 11 was  a “wiper” attack, in which the data on the targeted IT system is “wiped out” and cannot be retrieved. 

Stryker's staff found that cellphones, laptops, and other remote devices that were running Microsoft's Windows operating system and could connect to its computer platforms had been impacted by the attack.

No patient-related services and connected medical products were affected, the company noted, though it did not reveal details on the financial impact of the attack.

Stryker, which has 56,000 employees and operates in 61 countries, said it is coordinating with appropriate authorities and external cybersecurity experts as part of its investigation into the incident.

Ireland's National Cyber Security Centre in Dublin was alerted and the attack affected Stryker's gloal operations, hindering order processing, manufacturing, and shipments. An Iran-linked hacking group called Handala claimed responsibility for the attack the same day, claiming it was retaliation for a strike on a girls' school in Minab, southern Iran. Staff and contractors said in social media posts that the logo of an Iran-linked hacking group has appeared on the company's login pages.

Reuters