Spencer Stiles will become Stryker’s next CEO in January 2027. [Photo by Skyler Rivera/Medical Design & Outsourcing]
An Iran-backed group targeted Stryker’s Microsoft IT network in March 2026, wiping data from thousands of employee cell phones and servers, leaving data unretrievable.
The attack also shut down Stryker’s manufacturing capabilities for weeks and forced patient procedures to be rescheduled due to shipping delays.
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As the company continues to manage supply chain disruptions, Stryker’s soon-to-be CEO Spencer Stiles shared lessons learned from the attack and how to build a stronger, more secure organization at AdvaMed’s October 2026 MedTech Conference in Boston.
The following has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
“We went through a really hard time earlier this year with the cyberattack. I can tell you where I was on March 11, the morning I got called. All of you have your phones out. Just imagine taking those phones and wiping them clean and then trying to get through the rest of your day. Who would you call? How would you look up numbers? How would you contact loved ones? That’s what we went through.
“It was a trying time, and you try to remember what we do during these times. Well, we prioritize. We have a framework. What’s most important? Safety of our patients, of our employees, of our teammates. How do we continue to take care of our customers? How do we communicate as much as we can, as transparently as possible as we can? I think we’re a better company because of it today. But it was hard.. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. And it wasn’t really just a Stryker matter. That was a question for our healthcare system, the ecosystem.
“So learning from that, I’ll encourage all of you: Make sure, No. 1, that you write down your contacts outside your phone. On top of that, make sure you have systems that can detect and contain. Detect and contain, you should be screaming that from the rooftops wherever you are, making sure that your systems are set up to detect and contain. That’ll make you a stronger organization in the future.”
Stryker is the world’s fifth-largest medical device company, according to the 2026 Medical Design & Outsourcing Medtech Big 100 ranking by revenue.
