Medical technology giant Stryker suffered a cyberattack this week that disrupted its internal Microsoft-based systems worldwide. At the time of publication of this article, the situation remains ongoing and unresolved.
Below are six things to know about the attack.
—Systems are down and orders are blocked. The attack, which occurred Wednesday, caused employees to lose access to their company laptops and phones, as well as internal software. Stryker too said that the attack disrupted order processing, manufacturing and shipping.
— Many devices and patient services are unharmed. Stryker said its patient services and connected medical devices were not affected by the attack. The company also said it had not detected any ransomware or malware and believed the incident was confined to its internal environment.
— The attack could have geopolitical motivations. The Handala group, linked to Iran, claimed responsibility for the attack in retaliation for US-Israeli military strikes in Iran. The group said it wiped 200,000 systems and stole 50 terabytes of data. Stryker has not confirmed that Handala was responsible for the hack.
— It is difficult to assess the true impact. Handala’s claims should be treated with caution until they are independently verified, according to Ensar Seker, head of information security at cybersecurity firm SOCRadar.
“Hacktivist groups often exaggerate the operational impact for psychological effect. However, even if the scale is smaller than claimed, a wiper attack against a global medical technology company is serious because it targets operational continuity rather than simple data theft,” Seker said in a statement sent to MedCité News.
— In terms of stock prices, the ordeal could be a brief setback. Debbie Wang, senior equity analyst at investment research firm Morningstar, said she doesn’t change her estimate that Stryker stock is worth about $316. She believes the cyberattack is just a temporary incident that won’t actually affect the company’s cash flow or profits in the long term. Joanne Wuensch, chief executive of Citi, said she always optimistic on Stryker too.
—More political cyberattacks could hit healthcare organizations this year. If the United States and Israel cause more civilian casualties in Iran, Wang said she would not be surprised to see other U.S. companies in critical sectors targeted by pro-Iranian cyber gangs. Seker also said he expects to see more cyberattacks demonstrating that critical Western industries can be disrupted during times of geopolitical tensions.
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