Boston Scientific restores operations after cyberattack disrupts cardiac device monitoring

Boston Scientific is working to restore operations following a cybersecurity incident detected on August 25. The attack caused a global network outage that disrupted product manufacturing, order processing, and shipping. The company is currently working toward a partial restoration of product shipping this week.

The intrusion appears limited to specific on-premises systems, with no reported impact on cloud-based applications. As of August 30, the company reported no new signs of unauthorized activity. Boston Scientific has engaged CrowdStrike and other third-party experts to assist in the investigation.

Regarding patient safety, the company stated there is no known impact on the function of implantable cardiac rhythm management devices. Patients who were already being monitored remotely prior to the outage continue to transmit data normally. However, newly implanted devices face disruptions: remote communicators for certain devices cannot be activated, and new insertable cardiac monitors cannot currently pair with patients’ phones. While these monitors continue to log data internally for in-person clinic reviews, the automatic pipeline for flagging issues between appointments is currently unavailable.