Iran-linked hacker group claims responsibility for cyberattack on US medical tech company Stryker

An Iran-linked hacker group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on U.S. medical tech company Stryker.

The company produces a range of medical equipment and technology, and is headquartered in Michigan, NBC News reported.

“Stryker is experiencing a global network disruption to our Microsoft environment as a result of a cyber attack. We have no indication of ransomware or malware and believe the incident is contained,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The cyberattack appears to be the first significant instance of Iran hacking a U.S. company since the war between the countries started last month.

An anonymous Stryker employee told the news outlet that employees' work-issued phones stopped working, bringing work and communications with colleagues to a halt. The cyberattack appears to have deleted information from devices.

Handala Team claimed responsibility for the Stryker cyberattack in statements on its Telegram and X accounts.

Public evidence of the hack appears to indicate that hackers gained access to Stryker's Microsoft Intune account, which the employee confirmed the company uses.

“They seem to have obtained access to the Microsoft Intune management console. This is a solution for managing corporate devices,” said Rafe Pilling, the director of threat intelligence at the cybersecurity company Sophos, which has tied Handala to Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.

“One of the features is the ability to remotely wipe a device if it’s lost/stolen etc. Looks like they triggered that for some or all of the enrolled devices,” Pilling said.

Stryker and Microsoft didn't respond to NBC News' requests for comment.