Iran Claim Massive Cyber-Attack on MedTech Firm Stryker

Pro-Iranian hackers have claimed a major scalp after causing global disruption at Fortune 500 medical technology vendor Stryker, with the Handala group stating it wiped over 200,000 systems, servers and mobile devices and exfiltrated 50TB of the firm’s data. The group further claimed that Stryker’s offices in 79 countries have been forced to shut down.

Stryker confirmed the attack in an 8-K filing with the SEC yesterday, noting that it led to global disruption to the company’s Microsoft environment and that there is no indication of ransomware or malware, with the incident contained for now. The firm said the incident has caused, and is expected to continue to cause, disruptions and limitations of access to certain information systems and business applications, while emphasising its business continuity measures to support customers and partners.

According to Stryker’s website, the company employs over 56,000 people in 61 countries and posted sales of $22.6bn in 2024. Handala’s site was down at the time of writing, but experts were quick to link the group’s activity to Iranian state actors rather than mere hacktivism.