Stryker's global IT systems have been crippled by a suspected cyber attack, with the issue impacting the US medical technology company leaving thousands of employees unable to work.

The attack, believed to have been orchestrated by an Iranian-linked hacker group, has impacted all of the company's operations in Europe, Asia, and the USA. Most work devices, including personal phones that had a Stryker work profile, have been wiped by cybercriminals, the Irish Mirror has reported. Stryker said in a message to staff based in Cork, Ireland: "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."

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