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A hacking group linked to Iran has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on a US medical tech company. Michigan-based Stryker said the attack on Wednesday disrupted its global computer networks and affected systems connected to its Microsoft environment.
Handala, the hacker group, said it carried out the attack as retaliation for a US-Israeli missile strike on an elementary school in Iran. The targeted attack killed around 180 school girls in Minab on February 28.
The hackers warned the incident was “the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare,” Al Jazeera reported.
Stryker said it was “experiencing a global network disruption to our Microsoft environment as a result of a cyberattack.”
It added that it had “no indication of ransomware or malware and believes the incident is contained,” as per NBC News.
The disruption began shortly after midnight on the US East Coast on Wednesday, affecting Windows-based devices including laptops and mobile phones connected to Stryker’s systems. Some employees reported that their work phones stopped functioning, disrupting internal communications.
Staff also reported seeing the hackers’ logo on company login pages during the incident. Calls to Stryker’s headquarters in Portage, Michigan, were met with a recorded message saying the company was dealing with a “building emergency.”
Handala claimed it had taken about 50 terabytes of company data and said the information was “now in the hands of the free people of the world.”
Stryker manufactures a wide range of hospital equipment, including artificial joints, surgical instruments, defibrillators, hospital beds and robotic surgery systems.
The company reported more than $25 billion in revenue in 2025 and says its products reach more than 150 million patients each year across 61 countries.
Maryland’s Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems said Stryker’s Lifenet electrocardiogram transmission system was “non-functional in most parts of the state,” as per CNN.
“Until the transmission capability has been restored, EMS clinicians should initiate radio consultation with the receiving hospital,” the agency said in a notice to hospitals.
The hacking group also claimed it launched a simultaneous cyberattack on payments company Verifone, though the company said it had not experienced any disruption to its services.
The attack is seemingly one of the first significant cyber operations linked to Tehran against a major American company since the start of the US and Israel’s war on Iran last month.
Iran has previously been linked to destructive ‘wiper’ attacks, including the 2012 cyberattack on Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco that erased data from around 30,000 computers.
Handala, the hacker group, said it carried out the attack as retaliation for a US-Israeli missile strike on an elementary school in Iran. The targeted attack killed around 180 school girls in Minab on February 28.
The hackers warned the incident was “the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare,” Al Jazeera reported.
Stryker said it was “experiencing a global network disruption to our Microsoft environment as a result of a cyberattack.”
It added that it had “no indication of ransomware or malware and believes the incident is contained,” as per NBC News.
The disruption began shortly after midnight on the US East Coast on Wednesday, affecting Windows-based devices including laptops and mobile phones connected to Stryker’s systems. Some employees reported that their work phones stopped functioning, disrupting internal communications.
Staff also reported seeing the hackers’ logo on company login pages during the incident. Calls to Stryker’s headquarters in Portage, Michigan, were met with a recorded message saying the company was dealing with a “building emergency.”
Handala claimed it had taken about 50 terabytes of company data and said the information was “now in the hands of the free people of the world.”
Stryker manufactures a wide range of hospital equipment, including artificial joints, surgical instruments, defibrillators, hospital beds and robotic surgery systems.
The company reported more than $25 billion in revenue in 2025 and says its products reach more than 150 million patients each year across 61 countries.
Maryland’s Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems said Stryker’s Lifenet electrocardiogram transmission system was “non-functional in most parts of the state,” as per CNN.
“Until the transmission capability has been restored, EMS clinicians should initiate radio consultation with the receiving hospital,” the agency said in a notice to hospitals.
The hacking group also claimed it launched a simultaneous cyberattack on payments company Verifone, though the company said it had not experienced any disruption to its services.
The attack is seemingly one of the first significant cyber operations linked to Tehran against a major American company since the start of the US and Israel’s war on Iran last month.
Iran has previously been linked to destructive ‘wiper’ attacks, including the 2012 cyberattack on Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco that erased data from around 30,000 computers.
