Cyberattack on US Medical Device Maker Hampers Shipments of Life-Saving Tech

Masimo Corporation, an American manufacturer of medical devices, has slowed down production and shipments due to a cyber intrusion.

The California-based firm develops and manufactures patient monitoring systems, which are used extensively in clinics across the US. More recently, the company entered the wearables market.

The publicly traded company has 3,600 employees worldwide and reported over $2 billion in revenue last year.

Unauthorized activity on-premises

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 27, Masimo told investors that it detected “unauthorized activity” on its on-premise network, prompting the shutdown of its systems to prevent any potential spread of the intrusion.

“Upon detection, we activated our incident response protocols and implemented containment measures, including proactively isolating impacted systems,” according to the 8-K form. “We promptly commenced an investigation and are actively working to assess, mitigate, and remediate the incident with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity professionals. The Company has also notified and is coordinating with law enforcement.”

Product orders impacted

The notice explains that the incident caused the medical device maker to halt some production, resulting in unfulfilled orders.

“As a result of the incident, certain of the Company’s manufacturing facilities have been operating at less than normal levels, and the Company’s ability to process, fulfill, and ship customer orders timely has been temporarily impacted,” Masimo says.

“The Company has been working diligently to bring the affected portions of its network back online, restore normal business operations and mitigate the impact of the incident,” the notice reads.

Masimo doesn’t indicate it may have suffered a targeted attack, saying, "The investigation of the incident remains ongoing, and the full scope, nature, and impact of the incident are not yet known.”

Don’t wait for a data breach notice

According to the company's SEC notice, Masimo has found no evidence that unauthorized access reached its cloud-based systems. However, incidents like these often result in access to company data, including customer information.

Most organizations are transparent and quick to inform customers of a data breach. But others may not react quickly or decisively.

Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection lets you know if your data has been compromised or leaked online, what risks you face, and how to protect yourself.

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