Boston Scientific says cyberattack is causing a ‘global disruption’ to medical device operations

• Boston Scientific confirmed a cyberattack disrupting global operations and IT systems
• Incident response activated; SEC filing notes ongoing impact on order processing and shipping
• Nature of attack undisclosed, but disruption suggests ransomware; no group claimed responsibility yet

Boston Scientific, a US-based global medical technology company, has confirmed it was the target of a cyberattack which disrupted operations worldwide and disrupted its IT systems.

In a new 8-K form filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Boston Scientific said it detected an intrusion and activated its incident response protocols. It called in third-party cybersecurity experts to assist in assessing and containing the threat, as well.

Boston Scientific builds devices used to diagnose different health issues. It was founded in 1979, headquartered in Massachusetts, and operates in more than 100 countries around the world. Its core business areas include cardiology, endoscopy, urology, and peripheral interventions. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is considered as one of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Medtronic, Abbott, and Johnson & Johnson MedTech.

Causing disruptions

In the 8-K form, the company said the incident “caused, and is expected to continue to cause, disruptions and limitations to access to certain of the company’s information systems and business applications that support aspects of the company’s operations, including the ability to process and ship customer orders.”

It did not discuss the nature of the attack, or the identity of the attackers, but this kind of disruption is usually only caused by a ransomware infection. Ransomware operators are known for encrypting entire networks and rendering them useless until either a decryption key is applied, or it gets restored via a backup.

Businesses also sometimes shut down parts of their infrastructure to stop data exfiltration efforts, which are an indispensable part of ransomware attacks.

“While the company is working diligently to restore affected functions and systems access, the timeline for a full restoration is not yet known,” it stressed in the form.

So far, no hacking groups claimed responsibility for the attack and there is no evidence of any stolen data.

Via The Register

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.