Boston Scientific has begun restoring product shipments roughly one week after a cyberattack disrupted operations across the company, affecting manufacturing, order processing and customer shipments.
According to an update posted on the company’s website last week, the medical device manufacturer has started restoring shipping for the majority of its products at its major distribution centers around the world. Boston Scientific is also working to bring back full shipping capabilities for additional products and locations as operations gradually return to full capacity.
“As capabilities are validated and brought back online, we are progressively moving customer orders through the fulfillment process,” the company said. However, the recovery will not be immediate, with the company warning that it will take time to clear the existing backlog of orders.
Despite the ongoing restoration process, customers can still submit orders electronically.
Boston Scientific declined to comment on whether its manufacturing operations continue to be affected by the cyberattack when contacted by MedTech Dive. The company instead directed inquiries to updates published on its website.
Investigation continues
The company continues to investigate the cyberattack and is working with CrowdStrike and other third-party experts as part of its response.
In its previous update, Boston Scientific said it had “growing confidence that the unauthorized access was limited to select internal-facing IT infrastructure.” The statement indicates that the company believes the scope of the unauthorized access may have been limited, although the operational consequences have been significant.
The cyberattack disrupted Boston Scientific’s ability to manufacture products and also affected its ability to process and ship customer orders.
The incident is the latest in a series of cyberattacks targeting the medical device industry over the past six months. Several major companies have been affected, including Stryker, Medtronic, Abbott and Intuitive.
Most of those attacks have not resulted in major operational disruptions. Boston Scientific and Stryker, however, have experienced a much more significant impact.
Stryker faced a similar disruption
Stryker was targeted in a cyberattack in March that shut down ordering, shipping and manufacturing operations. The disruption continued for weeks and had a measurable effect on the company’s business.
Although Stryker did not disclose a specific figure for the attack’s impact on its first-quarter earnings, CEO Kevin Lobo said the incident had “meaningfully” affected the company’s growth.
The Boston Scientific incident also comes as the company faces challenges in other areas of its business. When it initially disclosed the cyberattack in a securities filing, Boston Scientific said it had not yet determined whether the incident would have a material financial impact.
At the same time, the company has already been dealing with pressure on its business performance. Boston Scientific has cut its sales and earnings-per-share forecast twice this year as challenges in key businesses weighed on its outlook.
For now, the company’s priority is restoring its distribution network, processing customer orders and gradually reducing the backlog created by the cyberattack while the investigation continues.
