A cyberattack on a US-based manufacturer of medical equipment, Stryker, has heightened concerns that Iran or hacking groups linked to it might target civilian companies and infrastructure as the war continues.
Stryker has not said who was behind the attack, which disrupted its systems around the world on Wednesday. But a hacker group appeared to take responsibility for it, calling it retaliation for a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school.
Stryker, a Michigan-based company that makes a wide range of medical equipment, said on Thursday that it was still trying to restore its communications and ordering systems. It said the hack seemed to be contained to its Microsoft programmes, adding that there was “no indication of malware or ransomware”.
“It is safe to communicate with Stryker employees and sales representatives by email and phone, and within your facility,” the company said. Stryker has customers in 61 countries, according to its website.
An organisation of hackers calling itself Handala claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on social media on Wednesday. The statement said the hack was retaliation for a February 28 missile strike on an elementary school in southern Iran, which Iranian officials said killed at least 175 people, most of them children.
Preliminary findings from a Pentagon investigation indicate that the US military carried out the strike because of a targeting error, The New York Times reported.
Handala, which seemed to emerge a few weeks after the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in 2023, has targeted businesses and individuals linked to Israel, according to cybersecurity firms and intelligence groups, including US- and Israeli-based Cyberint and IBM’s X-Force Exchange. Since the Iran war began on February 28, security firms have raised concerns that Iran or groups linked to it might engage in cyberwarfare, in some cases mentioning Handala specifically.
New York Times News Service and AP