Stryker Hit by Global Cyberattack, Thousands of Employees Affected

A sophisticated cyberattack has crippled IT systems at Stryker, a leading medical technology company, impacting operations across Europe, Asia and the United States. The attack, believed to be carried out by an Iranian-backed hacker group, has left thousands of employees, including a significant workforce in Ireland, unable to operate.

Widespread Disruption and Data Wiping

All IT systems at Stryker remain down as of Wednesday, March 11, 2026. The attack, described as a “wiper” attack, has resulted in the wiping of data on targeted systems, rendering it unrecoverable . Most work devices, including personal phones with Stryker work profiles, have been affected .

Stryker communicated to staff in Cork, Ireland, stating they are “experiencing a severe, global disruption impacting all Stryker laptops and systems that connect to our network.” A separate update to colleagues in Asia indicated that the root cause of the incident is still under investigation, with the company actively collaborating with Microsoft to address the “critical, enterprise-wide incident” .

Suspected Iranian-Backed Hacker Group

The Irish Mirror and other sources suggest that the most likely perpetrator is Handala, a pro-Palestinian Iranian-backed hacker group . This group has previously targeted companies based in Israel .

Impact on Stryker’s Operations

Stryker operates in 61 countries and employs over 56,000 people globally . Its Cork base in Ireland, the largest site outside of the United States, employs approximately 4,000 people , and up to 5,000 across Ireland . The attack has brought the entire company to a standstill, with employees unable to work and significant disruption to manufacturing operations , .

The Irish National Cyber Security Centre has been informed and is responding to the incident .

Login Pages Defaced

Reports indicate that Stryker’s internal login and admin pages have been defaced with the Handala logo .