Several months after a CrowdStrike update left millions of servers unusable, bringing some industries to a temporary but costly halt, Delta Air Lines has filed a law suit against the cybersecurity company to recoup some of its losses
The lawsuit, filed in a Georgia court, asks CrowdStrike to pay out over $500 million in losses, along with litigation costs and punitive damages.
After cancelling around 7,000 flights, Delta asserts it lost $380 million in revenue and incurred a further $170 million in other costs, which it is now looking to cover through means of legal action.
Delta takes CrowdStrike to court
“CrowdStrike caused a global catastrophe because it cut corners, took shortcuts, and circumvented the very testing and certification processes it advertised, for its own benefit and profit,” a Delta annoncement said.
News of the lawsuit comes after the company appointed David Boies, a major attorney with experience in some high-profile cases to seek damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft.
Speaking with CNBC, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said: “The havoc that was created deserves, in my opinion, to be fully compensated for.”
Following the incident, Delta was quick to offer customers financial support by means of refunds and reimbursements. The company acknowledged that CrowdStrike was responsible for the outage, but offered customers little more in terms of an explanation.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz issued a public apology after the outage, promising to enhance the company’s update protocols.
A CrowdStrike spokesperson responded to the case (via CNBC): “Delta’s claims are based on disproven misinformation, demonstrate a lack of understanding of how modern cybersecurity works, and reflect a desperate attempt to shift blame for its slow recovery away from its failure to modernize its antiquated IT infrastructure.”
It’s unclear how the case will play out, but with CrowdStrike’s dodgy update being the cause of the issue, it’s likely that this will guide the judge’s decision.
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