A cyberattack claimed by pro-Iran hackers has caused a “global network disruption” to a major US medical device maker, according to a company statement.
Michigan-based Stryker “is experiencing a global network disruption to our Microsoft environment as a result of a cyberattack,” the company said in a statement to CNN. “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. Stryker has business continuity measures in place to continue to support our customers and partners.”
Stryker makes a range of hospital equipment, from defibrillators to ambulance cots. The company’s computers in Ireland were also hit by the cyberattack, according to local media reports. Stryker say it serves more than 150 million patients through its health equipment and services.
It was unclear what immediate impacts, if any, the hack had on Stryker’s provision of medical equipment to US hospitals. Cybersecurity executives across the health sector told CNN on Wednesday they were on alert for any impacts.
One piece of Stryker equipment apparently disrupted by the cyberattack was an IT system called Lifenet, which emergency responders use to communicate patient data to hospitals.
Maryland’s Institute for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems, which oversees the state’s emergency medical services, told hospitals in the state Wednesday that it had received multiple reports that Stryker’s Lifenet electrocardiogram transmission system was “non-functional in most parts of the state.”
“Until the transmission capability has been restored, EMS clinicians should initiate radio consultation with the receiving hospital,” read the notice from the Maryland emergency services agency, which CNN obtained.
Source: CNN