March 26 (Reuters) – Medical device maker Stryker said on Thursday its operations were steadily improving towards full capacity, after a cyberattack caused widespread disruption to its business.
Shares of Stryker climbed 2% after the company said its manufacturing capability was quickly ramping with most of its sites and critical lines restored.
A cyberattack on March 11 had affected Stryker’s operations, hindering order processing, manufacturing and shipments. An Iran-linked hacking group called Handala claimed responsibility for the attack the same day and said it was retaliation for a strike on a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran.
Stryker’s staff found that cellphones, laptops and other remote devices that were running Microsoft’s Windows operating system and could connect to its computer platforms had been impacted by the attack.
“Electronic ordering systems have been restored for customers, and we are working as quickly and safely as possible to reconcile orders, manufacture products and deliver to our customers,” Stryker said in a statement.
Stryker, which has 56,000 employees and operates in 61 countries, said it is coordinating with external cybersecurity experts and appropriate authorities who have tried to seize domains linked to the hackers.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
