Medtech
giant
Stryker
suffered
a
cyberattack
this
week
that
disrupted
its
internal
Microsoft-based
systems
worldwide.
As
of
this
article’s
publication,
the
situation
remains
ongoing
and
unresolved.
Below
are
six
things
to
know
about
the
attack.
—Systems
are
down
and
orders
are
stuck.
The
attack,
which
occurred
on
Wednesday,
caused
employees
to
lose
access
to
their
company
laptops
and
phones,
as
well
as
to
internal
software.
Stryker
also
said
that
the
attack
has
disrupted
order
processing,
manufacturing
and
shipping.
—Many
devices
and
patient
services
are
unscathed.
Stryker
said
its
patient-facing
services
and
connected
medical
devices
were
not
affected
by
the
attack.
The
company
also
stated
it
has
not
detected
ransomware
or
malware
and
believes
the
incident
was
contained
to
its
internal
environment.
—The
attack
may
have
had
geopolitical
motivations.
Iran-linked
group
Handala
has
claimed
the
attack
as
retaliation
for
U.S.–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
is
responsible
for
the
hack.
—It’s
difficult
to
gauge
the
true
impact.
Handala’s
claims
should
be
treated
cautiously
until
independently
verified,
according
to
Ensar
Seker,
chief
information
security
officer
at
cybersecurity
firm
SOCRadar.
“Hacktivist
groups
often
exaggerate
operational
impact
for
psychological
effect.
However,
even
if
the
scale
is
smaller
than
claimed,
a
wiper-style
attack
against
a
global
medical
technology
company
is
serious
because
it
targets
operational
continuity
rather
than
just
data
theft,”
Seker
said
in
a
statement
sent
to
MedCity
News.
—In
terms
of
stock
prices,
the
ordeal
could
be
a
short
hiccup.
Debbie
Wang,
senior
equity
analyst
at
investment
research
company
Morningstar,
said
she
isn’t
changing
her
estimate
that
Stryker’s
stock
is
worth
about
$316.
She
thinks
the
cyberattack
is
just
a
temporary
incident
that
won’t
really
affect
the
company’s
cash
or
earnings
in
the
long
run.
Joanne
Wuensch,
managing
director
at
Citi,
said
she
is
still
bullish
on
Stryker
as
well.
—More
political
cyberattacks
could
be
hitting
healthcare
organizations
this
year.
If
the
U.S.
and
Israel
cause
more
civilian
casualties
in
Iran,
Wang
said
she
wouldn’t
be
surprised
to
see
other
U.S.
companies
in
critical
sectors
being
targeted
by
pro-Iran
cybergangs.
Seker
also
said
he
expects
to
see
more
cyberattacks
demonstrating
that
Western
critical
industries
can
be
disrupted
during
geopolitical
tensions.
Photo:
JHVEPhoto,
Getty
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