Boston Scientific has begun to restore shipping of products roughly one week after it was hit by a cyberattack that disrupted operations throughout the company.
The medical device maker has begun restoring shipping for the majority of products at its major distribution centers globally, and it is working to restore full shipping capabilities for other products and other sites as it works up to full capacity. Boston Scientific provided the update in a statement posted to its website on Thursday.
“As capabilities are validated and brought back online, we are progressively moving customer orders through the fulfillment process,” the company said. “It will take time to work through the existing backlog of orders.”
While shipping is still being restored, customers are able to submit orders electronically.
The company declined to comment on MedTech Dive’s request for information on whether its manufacturing capabilities are still being affected, and said updates could be found on its website.
Boston Scientific is still investigating the attack and is working with CrowdStrike and other third-party experts. In its Thursday update, Boston Scientific said that it has “growing confidence that the unauthorized access was limited to select internal-facing IT infrastructure.”
The Boston Scientific cyberattack brought down the company’s ability to manufacture products, as well as its ability to process and ship customers’ orders.
The incident is the latest in a string of cyberattacks that have plagued the medical device industry for the past six months. Some of the top companies in the space have been hit by a cyberattack, including Stryker, Medtronic, Abbott and Intuitive.
While most attacks have not disrupted operations, Stryker and Boston Scientific have experienced a significant impact. Stryker suffered an attack in March that shut down ordering, shipping and manufacturing for the company. The effects lasted for weeks, and while the company did not provide a specific figure for how much the attack impacted its first-quarter earnings, CEO Kevin Lobo said that it “meaningfully” affected Stryker’s growth.
When Boston Scientific first disclosed the cyberattack last week in a securities filing, it said that it had not yet determined whether the incident would have a material impact.
The attack comes amid recent struggles for the company — Boston Scientific has cut its sales and earnings per share forecast twice this year as key businesses faced challenges.
