Dive Brief:
- Henry Schein has taken “certain systems offline” after a cybersecurity incident at “a portion of its manufacturing and distribution businesses.”
- The company, which reported sales of $12.6 billion last year, took systems offline and made other changes to contain the incident, causing “temporary disruption” to some operations.
- Henry Schein, a distributor of medical and dental supplies, said practice management software used by its clients is unaffected by the actions, but its website remained offline early on Oct. 18.
Dive Insight:
Henry Schein determined that a cybersecurity incident had taken place on Oct. 14 and put out a press release about the attack the next day. The statement revealed that Henry Schein had “promptly” taken “precautionary action” after learning of the cybersecurity incident, without explaining the nature of the attack or giving a detailed picture of the businesses affected and the disruption caused.
The company was still working to resolve the situation and investigating “any data impact” when it put out the statement. Outside cybersecurity and forensic information technology experts were supporting the work. Henry Schein’s website was offline early on Wednesday morning.
In an email, Henry Schein spokesperson Ann Marie Gothard said the company had nothing to add beyond its Oct. 15 statement.
Amid the ongoing disruption, Henry Schein is continuing to get work done. The company confirmed the completion of its previously disclosed takeover of Shield Healthcare on Tuesday. Shield generated sales of $180 million last year by supplying medical products to patients at home.
News of the cybersecurity incident at Henry Schein comes shortly after 23andMe issued a notice about data concerns at its operation. The consumer genetic testing company contacted customers after some user information was put up for sale online.
