Boston Scientific left nursing its bottom line after cyberattack

Boston Scientific is anticipating a significant financial impact following a recent cyberattack that disrupted its operations worldwide. In an SEC filing, the medical device company disclosed that the attack, detected on August 25, caused substantial disruption to its systems, making it unlikely to meet its sales growth and adjusted earnings guidance for the third quarter and the full year.

The intrusion knocked systems offline, affecting business applications used for processing and shipping customer orders, though the company has since largely restored its distribution network and manufacturing has resumed at most sites. They anticipate recovery of some affected revenue, but the full financial impact remains uncertain.

Boston Scientific plans to update its outlook when it reports third-quarter results on October 28. The company has not identified any ongoing unauthorized access to its systems, but the investigation is ongoing. The circumstances of the attack, including how the attackers gained access, whether ransomware was involved, the responsible party, and whether any data was stolen, remain unclear.

Despite the disruption, Boston Scientific does not expect the incident to significantly affect its long-term financial condition.