CrowdStrike Fires Back At Delta, Claiming The Airline Ignored Offers Of Help During Service Meltdown

CrowdStrike struck back at Delta after the airline’s CEO slammed the cybersecurity firm for computer faults that he claimed cost Delta $500 million. CrowdStrike argued that Delta would have to justify its IT failures in any litigation and that it had ignored CrowdStrike’s offers of help.

CrowdStrike’s legal counsel wrote to Delta’s legal counsel on Sunday, stating that the cybersecurity firm was “highly disappointed by Delta’s suggestion that CrowdStrike acted inappropriately and strongly rejects any allegation that it was grossly negligent or committed wilful misconduct.”

Crowdstrike | Business Media Image

CrowdStrike Fires Back At Delta, Claiming The Airline Ignored Offers Of Help During Service Meltdown

According to the letter, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz personally offered onsite assistance to Delta CEO Ed Bastian but received no response. Delta later informed CrowdStrike that no support was required during the airline’s almost weeklong service outage, which canceled thousands of flights.

Delta’s public lawsuit threat “contributed to a misleading narrative that CrowdStrike is responsible for Delta’s IT decisions and response to the outage,” according to the letter from attorney Michael Carlinsky. “Should Delta pursue this path, Delta will have to explain to the public, its shareholders, and ultimately a jury why CrowdStrike took responsibility for its actions—swiftly, transparently, and constructively—while Delta did not.”

On July 19, Delta and hundreds of other firms worldwide experienced major computer failures due to CrowdStrike’s defective software upgrade.

However, Bastian stated last week that CrowdStrike was not discovered during the crisis.

“They haven’t offered us anything. “Free consulting advice to help us,” stated the Delta CEO during an interview with CNBC.

“If you’re going to have priority access to the Delta ecosystem in terms of technology, you’ve got to test this stuff,” according to Bastian. “You can’t walk into a mission-critical 24/7 operation and tell us there’s a bug. “It does not work.”

CrowdStrike’s letter echoed other passengers’ concerns about Delta’s July disaster. It stated that Delta would have to explain why other airlines restored operations sooner and why it declined CrowdStrike’s onsite assistance. It further stated that Delta would have to explain the “resiliency capabilities of Delta’s IT infrastructure.”

Delta’s computer troubles forced its critical crew tracking system offline for nearly a week, making it impossible for the business to find the pilots and flight attendants required to fly its aircraft. While other airlines quickly resumed normal operations following the CrowdStrike outage, Delta was forced to cancel over 30% of its schedule over five days, stranding an estimated half million passengers. It took many days to re-book affected travelers and return their checked luggage on other flights.

The cybersecurity company also stated that it was contractually limited to liabilities in the single millions.

CrowdStrike stated that litigation would be terrible, but it is prepared to fight back.

The letter was addressed to prominent attorney David Boies, who, according to CNN, was retained by Delta to seek reimbursement from CrowdStrike and Microsoft, whose Windows operating system on Delta’s computers was affected by the software upgrade.

According to the letter, “CrowdStrike will respond aggressively, if forced to do so, to protect its shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders.”

Crowdstrike | CNN Image

CrowdStrike Fires Back At Delta, Claiming The Airline Ignored Offers Of Help During Service Meltdown

Delta has yet to file its case. The airline declined to comment, instead directing inquiries to Bastian’s interview on CNBC.

“We have no choice,” Bastian earlier told CNBC. We have to protect our shareholders, our customers (and) our employees from the damage, not just the cost but the reputational damage.”

SOURCE | CNN