Here’s What Doctors Should Know About the Stryker Cyberattack

Medical device maker Stryker said its surgical technology platforms, defibrillators and cardiac monitors, and connected beds are unaffected by a recent cyberattack, and clinicians can keep using these products.

The attack, for which pro-Iran hackers claimed responsibility, mainly caused disruptions to order processing, manufacturing, and shipping, the company said.

“All Stryker products across our global portfolio, including connected, digital, and life-saving technologies, remain safe to use,” the company said in an update on Sunday morning. “This event was contained to Stryker’s internal Microsoft environment, and as a result it did not affect any of our products — connected or otherwise.”

Unaffected surgical technology platforms include Surgical Visualization Platforms and Connected OR Hub. Several endoscopy cloud and server products also were not impacted, including Studio3, Datamediator, Hospital Status, and Cisco Codecs.

SurgiCount and Triton devices are also safe to use, and there’s no need to restart them or take any other action, the company said. Its Mako System for hip, knee, and shoulder procedures also remains unaffected.

Regarding its cardiology products, the company’s LIFEPAK defibrillators and cardiac monitors remain unaffected. Its LIFENET patient data transmission system also remains operational, but some electronic patient care record vendors may have temporarily paused data transmissions as a precaution, the company noted.

Stryker’s connected beds and stretchers, such as iBedVision, were not impacted, the company said in an update Friday evening. “These devices have their own security protocols and operate completely independently of the Stryker network,” it stated.

Also, its Vocera Edge, Vocera Ease, and care.ai products were not affected, as its Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform infrastructure systems were not impacted by the attack.

“In addition to certain other precautionary actions, we have heightened the frequency of security scans across all cloud environments and are conducting a comprehensive review of access controls to ensure continued integrity of customer data,” the company stated.

Customers should direct any additional product-related questions to their local sales representative, the company advised.

The cyberattack mainly caused disruptions to Stryker’s order processing, manufacturing, and shipping. “However, we are working diligently to restore our systems and above all, we are committed to ensuring our customers can continue to deliver seamless patient care,” the company said.

Customers who order through distributors should “continue normal ordering patterns.” For those who order directly through the company, it said it is “actively working on shipping timelines and will provide updates as soon as they become available.”

Stryker also stated it would run additional shifts and personnel to address any potential backlogs.

The company announced on March 11 that a cyberattack disrupted its global networks, particularly hitting its Microsoft programs. The logo of Handala, a hacking group linked to Iran, appeared on company login pages, the Wall Street Journal reported. CNN reported that pro-Iran hackers claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it retaliation for a missile strike that hit an elementary school in Iran. However, Stryker has not yet confirmed that.

John Riggi, the American Hospital Association’s national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, said in a statement that his organization is “not aware of any direct impacts or disruptions to U.S. hospitals as a result of this attack.”

Riggi noted, however, that this “may change as hospitals evaluate services, technology, and the supply chain related to Stryker and as the duration of the attack extends.”

The American Hospital Association is “actively exchanging information with the hospital field and the federal government to understand the nature of the threat and assess any impact to hospital operations,” Riggi said.