Stryker (NYSE: SYK) says cyber incident contained as systems restore
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Stryker Corporation provides an update on a previously disclosed cybersecurity incident that disrupted its corporate network, including parts of its Microsoft environment. Working with Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42, third-party experts, and law enforcement, Stryker reports the incident is believed to be contained.
Current forensic analysis has not identified malicious activity directed toward customers, suppliers, vendors, or partners, nor evidence that the threat actor accessed their systems as a result of this incident. Stryker is prioritizing restoration of systems that support ordering, shipping, and manufacturing, which it says are ramping back up, while it continues to assess whether the incident is reasonably likely to have a material operational or financial impact.
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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
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| Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
As previously reported in two separate Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed with and furnished to (as the case may be) the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 11, 2026, and March 12, 2026, respectively, Stryker Corporation (the “Company”) disclosed that the Company had identified a cybersecurity incident. Since then, the Company has worked around the clock, together with third-party experts and law enforcement to contain and neutralize the impact of the cyber incident and restore operations. Since then, the Company has been providing updates to its customers, suppliers, vendors and partners on its ongoing investigation through the Company’s website and its social media channels. The information included in this report is a further update on the status of its ongoing investigation, which is also being communicated to its customers, suppliers, vendors, and partners through its website.
Early in the Company’s investigation and based on the information it had at that time, management believed that the incident did not involve ransomware or malware. Further into the course of its investigation alongside Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 and other experts, the Company was able to identify that while the threat actor used a malicious file to run commands which allowed it to hide its activity while in its systems, this file was not capable of spreading — either inside or outside of the Company’s environment. As of the date of this report, the Company’s investigation has not identified malicious activity directed towards its customers, suppliers, vendors or partners. The Company has continued to learn more alongside its third-party advisors, including those at Palo Alto Networks Unit 42. Their latest findings are included in a General Assurance letter, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and can also be found on the Company’s website at Stryker.com. This letter reaffirms the Company’s belief that this incident is contained and that the current analysis has not identified any evidence of the threat actor accessing customer, supplier, vendor and partner systems as a result of this incident. The Company has also posted a statement on its website at Stryker.com which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2.
As its investigation is ongoing, the Company will continue to update its customers, suppliers, vendors and partners through its website disclosures, which updates will supersede previously made website reports. For example, the Company’s website reports have been updated to reflect that the cybersecurity incident caused disruption to the Company’s corporate network environment, including but not limited to the Microsoft environment. The Company’s investigation of the cybersecurity incident is ongoing, and the scope, nature and impact, including, but not limited to operational and financial impact, of the incident continue to be assessed and re-evaluated. Accordingly, the Company has not yet determined whether the incident is reasonably likely to have a material impact on the Company.
The information furnished in this report, including Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements subject to the safe harbor protection provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company’s current beliefs regarding the extent of the cybersecurity incident and the results or findings of the Company’s investigation thereof; the Company’s ability to contain and/or mitigate the incident; the disruption to our business or operations; and the potential impact on the Company’s reputation, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations as of the date of this filing. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, any impairment of the integrity of the Company’s systems or data; delays or difficulties in restoring the Company’s systems and data; the Company’s continued ability to use alternatives to its systems, to the extent needed; the Company’s ability to process information it collected while using alternatives to its systems and the integrity of that information; the adequacy of processes during the period of disruption of the Company’s systems; the results of the Company’s analysis of the scope and details of the
cybersecurity incident; the unauthorized release of any of the Company’s data, including third party data held by the Company, or the use of any such data for any fraudulent purposes; potential adverse impact of the incident on the Company’s results of operations, including revenue, operating income and cash flows from operations, and on its financial condition, including liquidity; diversion of management’s attention from operations of the Company to address the cybersecurity incident; potential litigation related to the cybersecurity incident; potential adverse effects on relationships with customers, suppliers, patients and other third parties as a result of the cybersecurity incident; reputational risk related to the cybersecurity incident; regulatory scrutiny as a result of the cybersecurity incident; and other risks listed or described from time to time in our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q that we have filed or will file hereafter. Except as required by applicable law, we disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
| (d) | Exhibits |
| 99.1 General Assurance Letter |
| 99.2 Company Statement |
| 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| STRYKER CORPORATION | ||||||
| (Registrant) | ||||||
| Dated: March 23, 2026 | By: | /s/ Tina S. French | ||||
| Name: | Tina S. French | |||||
| Title: | Corporate Secretary | |||||
Exhibit 99.1
March 20, 2026
Stryker Corporation
| Att: | David Nathans, Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer |
Subject: Stryker Corporation Partner and Customer Connections to the Stryker Environment
Mr. Nathans,
Per your request, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 hereby issues this letter as a status update on Unit 42’s services assisting Stryker Corporation (Stryker) to provide, at your direction, Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) services in relation to a security compromise involving impacts to Stryker’s Entra ID environment, servers, and workstations (“Security Incident”).
Scope of Work
As part of the completed activities for this engagement, Unit 42 has worked with Stryker’s technical teams to perform the following:
| ● | Threat Hunting & Forensic Analysis: Conducted deep-dive analysis of endpoint forensic images, network logs, and identity infrastructure (including Entra ID/Active Directory) to identify indicators of compromise (IOCs) and evidence of unauthorized access. |
| ● | Containment & Eradication: Identified and neutralized suspected malicious binaries and unauthorized persistence mechanisms. |
| ● | Infrastructure Review: Reviewed available forensic evidence from, and the security of critical business process flows within, the Stryker corporate environment. |
Current Findings and Assurance
As of 2026-03-20, 15:20 UTC, based on the forensic evidence reviewed and the threat hunting activities performed across the environment:
| 1. | No Persistent Activity Identified: Unit 42 has found no current evidence of active, uncontained, persistent unauthorized access within the Stryker environment. |
| 2. | Eradication of Identified IOCs: All known indicators of compromise associated with this specific incident have been successfully identified and addressed. |
| 3. | Remediation Validation: Stryker has engaged Microsoft to assist with recovery of the identity infrastructure and has reported that existing accounts have been secured. Unit 42 is supporting Stryker and Microsoft in these efforts. Additionally, with guidance from |
| Unit 42, Stryker is rebuilding impacted systems or restoring from backups predating the known window of compromise to further prevent threat actor re-entry. Those impacted systems not yet rebuilt/restored, have been isolated from the network. |
Conclusion
As of the date of this letter, within the scope of our services, Unit 42 has not identified evidence of unauthorized activity related to the Security Incident since 2026-03-11. Currently available evidence indicates that the identified unauthorized activity has been contained and the immediate risk to Stryker’s operational environment has been mitigated. At your direction, Unit 42 will continue to monitor the environment as part of its analysis and threat hunting phases.
The information provided in this status update letter may be subject to change based on the continued performance of Unit 42’s services. Unit 42 shall not be responsible or liable for any reliance on the contents of this letter by any third party.
Sincerely,
Troy Bettencourt
| VP, Digital Forensics and Incident Response Palo Alto Networks | Unit 42 | 941.447.1030 |
|
Exhibit 99.2
Customer Update: Stryker Network Disruption
03/23/2026
Our internal teams continue to work around the clock with external partners to make meaningful progress on our restoration efforts. We are grateful for the partnership and collaboration with government agencies and industry partners.
We believe the incident is contained, and we are prioritizing restoration of systems that directly support customers, ordering and shipping. Our internal teams, in partnership with third-party experts, reacted quickly to not only regain access but to remove the unauthorized party from our environment.
Early in our investigation, we believed there was no indication of ransomware or malware. Further into the course of our investigation, alongside Palo Alto Networks Unit42 and other experts, we identified that the threat actor used a malicious file to run commands which allowed them to hide their activity while in our systems. To be clear, this file was not capable of spreading — either inside or outside of our environment. Most importantly, at no point has our investigation identified malicious activity directed towards our customers, suppliers, vendors or partners. Unit42’s latest findings are included in a General Assurance Letter we received, which can be found here. This letter reaffirms our belief that this incident is contained and that analysis has not identified any evidence of the threat actor accessing customer, supplier, vendor and partner systems as a result of this incident.
There is nothing more important to us than the customers and patients we serve, and we recognize the criticality of every procedure to every patient. We are working closely with our global manufacturing sites as operations continue to stabilize. Manufacturing capability is ramping quickly as critical lines and plants are brought back online, prioritizing patient needs. This is a 24/7 effort and the first priority of our entire organization.
FAQ
What cybersecurity incident did Stryker (SYK) report in this 8-K?
Has customer or partner data been affected by Stryker’s cybersecurity incident?
Is Stryker’s cybersecurity incident contained and are systems being restored?
What did Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 conclude about Stryker’s cyber incident?
Has Stryker (SYK) determined the financial impact of the cybersecurity incident?
How is Stryker communicating updates about its cybersecurity investigation?
Filing Exhibits & Attachments
6 documents