Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer linked to asbestos, but a trial hopes to prolong patient lives.
Author: tio
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Iran-Backed Hackers Claim Wiper Attack on Medtech Firm Stryker
A hacktivist group with links to Iran’s intelligence agencies is claiming responsibility for a data-wiping attack against Stryker, a global medical technology company based in Michigan. News reports out of Ireland, Stryker’s largest hub outside of the United States, said the company sent home more than 5,000 workers there today. Meanwhile, a voicemail message at Stryker’s main U.S. headquarters says the company is currently experiencing a building emergency.
In a lengthy statement posted to Telegram, an Iranian hacktivist group known as Handala (a.k.a. Handala Hack Team) claimed that Stryker’s offices in 79 countries have been forced to shut down after the group erased data from more than 200,000 systems, servers and mobile devices.
A manifesto posted by the Iran-backed hacktivist group Handala, claiming a mass data-wiping attack against medical technology maker Stryker.
“All the acquired data is now in the hands of the free people of the world, ready to be used for the true advancement of humanity and the exposure of injustice and corruption,” a portion of the Handala statement reads.
The group said the wiper attack was in retaliation for a Feb. 28 missile strike that hit an Iranian school and killed at least 175 people, most of them children. The New York Times reports today that an ongoing military investigation has determined the United States is responsible for the deadly Tomahawk missile strike.
Handala was one of several Iran-linked hacker groups recently profiled by Palo Alto Networks, which links it to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). Palo Alto says Handala surfaced in late 2023 and is assessed as one of several online personas maintained by Void Manticore, a MOIS-affiliated actor.
Stryker’s website says the company has 56,000 employees in 61 countries. A phone call placed Wednesday morning to the media line at Stryker’s Michigan headquarters sent this author to a voicemail message that stated, “We are currently experiencing a building emergency. Please try your call again later.”
A report Wednesday morning from the Irish Examiner said Stryker staff are now communicating via WhatsApp for any updates on when they can return to work. The story quoted an unnamed employee saying anything connected to the network is down, and that “anyone with Microsoft Outlook on their personal phones had their devices wiped.”
“Multiple sources have said that systems in the Cork headquarters have been ‘shut down’ and that Stryker devices held by employees have been wiped out,” the Examiner reported. “The login pages coming up on these devices have been defaced with the Handala logo.”
Wiper attacks usually involve malicious software designed to overwrite any existing data on infected devices. But a trusted source with knowledge of the attack who spoke on condition of anonymity told KrebsOnSecurity the perpetrators in this case appear to have used a Microsoft service called Microsoft Intune to issue a ‘remote wipe’ command against all connected devices.
Intune is a cloud-based solution built for IT teams to enforce security and data compliance policies, and it provides a single, web-based administrative console to monitor and control devices regardless of location. The Intune connection is supported by this Reddit discussion on the Stryker outage, where several users who claimed to be Stryker employees said they were told to uninstall Intune urgently.
Palo Alto says Handala’s hack-and-leak activity is primarily focused on Israel, with occasional targeting outside that scope when it serves a specific agenda. The security firm said Handala also has taken credit for recent attacks against fuel systems in Jordan and an Israeli energy exploration company.
“Recent observed activities are opportunistic and ‘quick and dirty,’ with a noticeable focus on supply-chain footholds (e.g., IT/service providers) to reach downstream victims, followed by ‘proof’ posts to amplify credibility and intimidate targets,” Palo Alto researchers wrote.
The Handala manifesto posted to Telegram referred to Stryker as a “Zionist-rooted corporation,” which may be a reference to the company’s 2019 acquisition of the Israeli company OrthoSpace.
This is a developing story. Updates will be noted with a timestamp.
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Does the Internet Archive Have an Onion Address?
Yes, the Internet Archive has an onion address. The Internet Archive can be accessed via the Tor network at its onion address: archivep75mbjunhxc6x4j5mwjmomyxb573v42baldlqu56ruil2oiad.onion
What is an onion address?
Tor (The Onion Router) is a privacy-focused network that helps protect users’ identities and browsing activity by routing traffic through encrypted layers. Visiting the Internet Archive through Tor allows users to explore the Wayback Machine, books, audio, video, and other collections with an added layer of anonymity, which is an important option for researchers, journalists, and anyone seeking greater privacy or access in regions where the open web may be restricted.
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‘My daughter died in her sleep, with no warning’
Jo-Ann Burns says her daughter Nicola wasn’t told about Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. -
Government Spying 🤝 Targeted Advertising | EFFector 38.5
Have you ever seen a really creepy targeted ad online? One that revealed just how much these companies know about your life? It’s unsettling enough to see how much companies know about you—but now we have confirmation that the government is also tapping the advertising surveillance machine to get your data. We’re explaining the dangers of targeted advertising and location tracking, and the latest in the fight for privacy and free speech online, with our EFFector newsletter.
For over 35 years, EFFector has been your guide to understanding the intersection of technology, civil liberties, and the law. This issue covers a victory for protesters seeking to hold police accountable, a troubling conflict over the Department of Defense’s use of AI, and how advertising surveillance enables government surveillance.
Prefer to listen in? Big news: EFFector is now available on all major podcast platforms! In this episode we chat with EFF Staff Attorney Lena Cohen about how targeted advertising can reveal your location to federal law enforcement. You can find the episode and subscribe in your podcast player of choice:
Want to stay in the fight for privacy and free speech online? Sign up for EFF’s EFFector newsletter for updates, ways to take action, and new merch drops. You can also fuel the fight against online surveillance when you support EFF today!
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Episode 4: Carmelo, Carmelo…
Editors’ Note: This podcast was originally produced in Spanish. But in light of recent events, we wanted to share it with a wider audience, and have reproduced the series in English using AI translation. You can find these translated episodes below, or listen to the original version in Spanish here.
You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other major audio platform.
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Tracing Tomahawks: US Missiles Bound for Iran Spotted Over Iraq
To stay up to date on our latest investigations, join Bellingcat’s WhatsApp channel here.
Bellingcat has geolocated footage of multiple Tomahawk cruise missiles travelling through Iraqi airspace towards Iran, either in violation of its airspace or with Iraq’s consent.
Bellingcat identified at least 20 individual cruise missiles and geolocated them over Iraqi Kurdistan including alongside Mount Piramagrun, in the Zagros Mountain range, and approximately 50 km southeast of the city of Kirkuk.
Modern Tomahawks can travel up to 1600 km, and are used for precision strikes. At the start of the war, the US had a carrier strike group in the Mediterranean and the Arabian Sea, as well as some independently deployed destroyers.
The US is the only participant in the war known to possess Tomahawks, which can be launched by ships or submarines. US President Donald Trump said at a press conference on Monday that Iran “also has some Tomahawks”. Official government reports on Iran’s military balance don’t support this claim.
Considering the distance of US vessels to the geolocated missiles, the missiles seen in the videos were most likely fired from the Mediterranean Sea, Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told Bellingcat.
Red Sea launches would be pushing the maximum range, and US Navy ships were not known to have been in the Persian Gulf at the start of the war, Lair said.
Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the US Program at the International Crisis Group, told Bellingcat that without the consent of Iraq and Syria, the intrusion of Tomahawk missiles into their airspace “would violate its sovereignty and international law”.
We asked the US State Department and Department of Defense as well as the foreign ministries of Iraq and Syria, if the US had an agreement with Iraq or Syria to utilise their airspace for cruise missiles targeting a third country. The Department of Defense told Bellingcat they “had nothing to provide” while neither the Iraqi nor Syrian ministry had responded at the time of publication.
On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and stressed that Iraqi airspace and territory should not be used for any military action targeting neighbouring countries, the prime minister’s media office said.
Bellingcat geolocated at least eight videos showing Tomahawk missiles over Iraq. The videos show at least 20 individual Tomahawk missiles, based on the longest uninterrupted video we reviewed.
The below graphic shows all Tomahawk missiles Bellingcat has geolocated, which includes additional missiles identified outside of Iraq.
Click the arrows in the map below to view the verified missile sightings, including the original footage and geolocation analysis.
Interactive map showing the approximate locations of US carrier groups in the region at the start of the war, with a 1600 km range, in relation to Tomahawks geolocated by Bellingcat. We included a possible Red Sea launch point for visualisation, reference and comparison purposes only. The white arrows indicate the location of Tomahawk sightings. Their respective directions of travel are shown by default. All coordinates and directions shown are approximate. Source: Logan Williams/Bellingcat.
These missiles don’t always make it to their intended target. In addition to footage of the airborne missiles, Bellingcat also identified remnants of a Tomahawk missile that had crashed outside Kafr Zita in northwest Syria.
Unexploded WDU-36/B warhead of a Tomahawk missile, outside Kafr Zita, Syria. Source: Qalaat Al Mudiq. Missiles Fired From the Sea
On the first day of the war, Feb 28, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) published footage of Tomahawk missiles being fired from the sea. Later on March 1, CENTCOM released additional video of the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) firing a Tomahawk missile, while operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
According to a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) analysis, more than 160 Tomahawk missiles may have been used in the first 100 hours of the war, and “they would have been used to destroy Iranian air defenses and other counter-air capabilities and create permissive conditions for follow-on attacks”.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) fires Tomahawk land attack missiles in support of Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 1, 2026. (U.S. Navy video)
Tomahawk Flights Through Iraqi Airspace
The footage analysed by Bellingcat showing cruise missiles travelling over land is consistent with the typical flight profile of Tomahawks, which cruise at low altitude along pre-programmed routes toward distant targets.
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According to the US Navy, “Tomahawk cruise missiles are designed to fly at extremely low altitudes at high subsonic speeds, and are piloted over an evasive route by several mission tailored guidance systems.”
This explains why they are sometimes filmed by civilians during transit. Similar sightings have previously been recorded during US conflicts in the Middle East.
Bellingcat analysed terrain features and solar data in the footage and confirmed the location and approximate direction of travel of the Tomahawk missiles. We found that they followed the terrain closely, and appeared to follow two different valleys near the Iraq-Iran border.
The Zagros mountain range stretches across much of Iran as well as northern Iraq. The mountains of this valley would provide details for the Tomahawks’ terrain matching guidance, and hide them from Iranian radar detection.
Click the arrows in the map below to view the verified missile sightings, including the original footage and geolocation analysis.
Interactive map showing the locations of Tomahawk sightings. The missiles were travelling through Iraqi airspace towards Iran in valleys near the Iraq-Iran border, and near Kirkuk. The respective directions of travel are shown (white arrows). All coordinates and directions shown are approximate. Source: Logan Williams/Bellingcat.
Other Geolocated Footage
In a video filmed in Tehran and posted on the first day of the war, six Tomahawk missiles can be seen flying over the Qurkhane Bus Terminal in Tehran, as an anti-aircraft gun on a nearby building fires at them. Other gunfire can be heard in the distance.
A Tomahawk flying over the area near Qurkhane Bus Terminal in Tehran, as an anti-aircraft gun on a nearby roof fires at it. Source: Vahid Online. Bellingcat previously geolocated a Tomahawk strike in Manib, Iran, near a school where 175 people, including children, were reported to have been killed.
A final video analysed by Bellingcat, posted on March 3, shows 13 Tomahawk missiles flying past a commercial ship in the direction of Iran, the M/V MAERSK BOSTON, while it was off the coast of Oman, according to solar, visual and Marine Traffic data.
A Tomahawk flying past the MV MAERSK BOSTON off the coast of Oman. Source: Warren Wright Olanda. New Tomahawk Variants
Since the beginning of the war, two new variants of Tomahawk missiles have been observed.
Typical Tomahawk configuration, with wings slightly angled towards the rear. Left: View of the bottom of a Tomahawk as it dives towards its target during a test. Right: View of the top of a Tomahawk as it dives during a test. Sources: Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence. One Tomahawk variant seen publicly for the first time, distinguished by its visible black body, believed to be a stealth coating. Other missiles appear to have wings angled forwards, a modification designed to make them harder to detect by radar, according to an analysis by The War Zone.
Tomahawk missile with forward swept wings. Source: Channel8. Clobbering
Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told Bellingcat that Tomahawks have GPS guidance and use terrain matching to determine their location. When there is an error in guidance, some missiles can “clobber” and hit the ground.
The US stopped firing Tomahawk missiles over Saudi Arabia during the 2003 Iraq War after some crashed in the country while attempting to strike targets. About ten Tomahawk missiles crashed during that war, with some landing in Iran and Turkey as well.
Bellingcat’s Logan Williams and Felix Matteo Lommerse contributed research to this article. Livio Spani, Anisa Shabir, Afton Briones, Mathis Noizet, and Nicole Kiess from Bellingcat’s Volunteer Community also contributed to this piece.
Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Bluesky here, Instagram here, Reddit here and YouTube here.
The post Tracing Tomahawks: US Missiles Bound for Iran Spotted Over Iraq appeared first on bellingcat.
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Alternative to HRT for menopausal hot flushes now on NHS
The non-hormonal daily pill could benefit 500,000 women for whom HRT is not suitable. -
An Unimpressive Reiki Study
I often get e-mail suggesting topics to cover on SBM or elsewhere in my social media content. I like getting these e-mails when they are organic, coming from readers here with genuine questions about some questionable claim or practice. But often they are press contacts, by a professional promoter pushing a new study or shopping around an author or someone they represent. […]
The post An Unimpressive Reiki Study first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.
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UN relief chief condemns ‘$1 billion-a-day’ cost of war in Middle East
The UN’s emergency relief chief on Wednesday condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war in the Middle East, at a time when humanitarian needs are soaring and aid funding is falling dangerously short.