A cyberattack on a major US company has raised new concerns among security experts who warn it could signal the beginning of a wider cyber campaign against Western organizations.
The warning comes after hackers targeted Stryker, a medical technology company based in Michigan which disrupted its global network and knocked thousands of employees offline.
An Iran-linked hacker group known as Handala later claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said the operation was carried out in retaliation for a US strike on a school in Minab.
Stryker hit with global cyberattack by suspected Iranian-backed group, thousands of workers affected at Cork plants
Experts warn this may be the start of a larger campaign
According to Daily Mail, Lee Sult, who is a chief investigator at cybersecurity firm Binalyze said that the Stryker breach could signal the beginning of broader cyber operations against Western targets.
“The Stryker attack looks to be the first drop of blood in the water as a result of nation-state and hacktivist activity off the back of the Iran conflict,” he said.
“This attack confirms Western organizations are not only in the adversary’s crosshairs, but the adversary can also make the shot. More shots are coming.”
Sult warned that the attack on Stryker “be the first in a wave of attacks.”
The Handala group later posted on Telegram claiming it wiped more than 200,000 systems and stole about 50 terabytes of data.
The group also claimed it shut down Stryker offices in 79 countries. Stryker operates in more than 100 countries around the world.
“Our major cyber operation has been executed with complete success,” Handala said in a statement.
The hackers described the operation as retaliation for what they called “the brutal attack on the Minab school” and “ongoing cyber assaults against the infrastructure of the Axis of Resistance.”
Critical US infrastructure could be targeted
Frank A. Rose, who previously served at the US Department of Defense warned that these cyber incidents could mean hackers may start targeting American infrastructure.
According to Daily Mail, He said systems like data centers, banking networks, energy facilities and other privately owned infrastructure could become possible targets.
“When the Iranians know very well they cannot take us on head-to-head in America militarily, they’re going to look for asymmetric ways to respond,” Rose said.
“Attacking American infrastructure might be one of those asymmetric vulnerabilities.”
He added that much of the United States’ infrastructure is run by private companies which often approach security differently than government national security organizations.
“You would hope companies in the private sector understand the evolving threat and start hardening key systems like data centers, banking networks and their cyber infrastructure,” Rose told Daily Mail.
“But that costs money. When I worked on cyber issues in government, we often didn’t make the investments we needed to because there were always other budget priorities.”
“Since 9/11, we’ve improved security around critical infrastructure, but it’s still not 100 percent.”
The cyber operations come as the United States and Israel launched a major military offensive against Iran which killed the country’s supreme leader and several senior officials.
