All IT systems at Stryker, which employs 4,000 people in its Cork base, remain down.
12:46, 11 Mar 2026Updated 13:27, 11 Mar 2026
Stryker facility in Cork
An Iranian-backed hacker group is believed to be behind a sophisticated cyber attack that has crippled a US medical technology company’s global operations, that has left thousands of Irish employees unable to work.
All IT systems at Stryker, which employs 4,000 people in its Cork base, remain down.
The attack is understood to have happened overnight and has affected all of the company’s operations in Europe, Asia, and the US.
Most work devices, including personal phones that had a Stryker work profile, have been wiped by cybercriminals, The Irish Mirror understands.
In a message to staff based in Cork, Stryker said: “We are experiencing a severe, global disruption impacting all Stryker laptops and systems that connect to our network.”
In a separate update sent to colleagues in Asia, Stryker wrote: “At this time, the root cause has not yet been identified. We are actively engaged with Microsoft and treating this a critical, enterprise-wide incident.”
The Irish Mirror understands many suspect the most likely culprit for the attack is Handala, a pro-Palestinian Iranian-backed hacker group.
The group has previously attacked companies based in Israel.
A source said: “Nobody can work. The entire company has been brought to a standstill. Nobody has any idea what is going on. This is going to have a huge knock-on effect.”
Around the world, Stryker operates in 61 countries and has more than 56,000 employees. Its Cork base is the biggest site outside of the US.
The Irish Mirror contacted the Gardai and Stryker for comment.
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