Arabic version: هاكرز مرتبطون بإيران يستهدفون شركة سترايكر في هجوم سيبراني كبير

A major cyberattack has crippled the global networks of Stryker, one of the world’s largest medical device companies, with an Iran-linked hacking group claiming responsibility and warning it marks “the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare.” The group, known as Handala, stated that the attack serves as a retaliation for the killing of more than 170 people, most of them schoolgirls, in a strike on a school in Minab, Iran. This incident coincided with the onset of military actions by the US and Israel against Iran. According to Al Jazeera, Handala characterized the attack as the start of a new chapter in cyber warfare.

The hacking group said it had seized 50 terabytes of company data, which it claimed was “now in the hands of the free people of the world.” Outages began shortly after midnight on the US East Coast, knocking out Windows-based devices connected to Stryker’s systems. The Michigan-based company confirmed it was “experiencing a global network disruption to our Microsoft environment as a result of a cyberattack,” adding it had found no evidence of ransomware or malware and believed the incident was contained.

The attack’s timing aligns with heightened tensions in the region, as Iran has intensified threats against Western economic targets. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has declared that US and Israeli-linked economic centers are now legitimate targets. Handala also claimed responsibility for a concurrent attack on payment processing company Verifone, although Verifone denied experiencing any service disruptions.

Stryker, headquartered in Portage, Michigan, reported revenues of more than $25 billion in 2025 and provides medical products to more than 150 million patients across 61 countries. The impact of this cyberattack on its operations remains to be fully assessed, as the company deals with the immediate fallout of the incident.