An Iranian-linked hacker group has targeted Stryker, a U.S. medical equipment company with an office in McHenry County, causing a global network disruption for the company.
Stryker Corporation said in a statement on Wednesday that it was experiencing a global network disruption to its Microsoft environment as a result of a cyber attack.
“We have no indication of ransomware or malware and believe the incident is contained. Our teams are working rapidly to understand the impact of the attack on our systems,” the statement said.
Stryker said they have business continuity measures in place to continue to support its customers and partners. “We are committed to transparency and will keep stakeholders informed as we know more.”
Stryker is a medical technology corporation based in Portage, Michigan.
The company has an office and a warehouse in Cary after acquiring Sage Products, a developer of healthcare solutions that address hospital-acquired conditions, in 2016. Sage is now a business unit within Stryker’s Medical division.
Stryker said in an update on Thursday that it was continuing to resolve the disruption impacting its global network.
“At this time, there is no indication of malware or ransomware and we believe the situation is contained to our internal Microsoft environment only. Our products like Mako, Vocera and LIFEPAK35 are fully safe to use,” Stryker said.
The company said they have visibility to orders submitted before the event and they will be shipped as soon as their system communications are restored.
Any orders that were submitted 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,” Stryker said.
“We are committed to keeping our stakeholders informed as we manage this situation. There is nothing more important to us than the customers and patients we serve,” they added.
Hacker group Handala, an Iran-linked organization, claimed responsibility for the attack, which affected thousands of employees using Stryker’s Microsoft systems.
“We announce to the world that, in retaliation for the brutal attack on the Minab school and in response to ongoing cyber assaults against the infrastructure of the Axis of Resistance, our major cyber operation has been executed with complete success,” the group said in a statement.
“The Zionist-rooted corporation, Stryker, one of the key arms of the global Zionist lobby and a central ring in the ‘New Epstein’ chain, has been struck with an unprecedented blow,” Handala said.
The group said over 200,000 systems, servers and mobile devices had been wiped and 50 terabytes of critical data were extracted, forcing Stryker’s offices in 79 countries to “shut down.”
“All the acquired data is now in the hands of the free people of the world, ready to be used for the true advancement of humanity and the exposure of injustice and corruption,” the statement said.