CrowdStrike Denies Liability for Delta Air Lines’ July 19 Outage

CrowdStrike has refuted Delta Air Lines’ claims that it should be held responsible for flight disruptions following a global outage on July 19 caused by a faulty update.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian recently stated that the outage resulted in a $500 million loss for the airline, prompting plans for legal action against the cybersecurity firm.

CrowdStrike’s Response:

In a letter from an external lawyer, CrowdStrike reiterated its apology to Delta but strongly rejected any allegations of gross negligence or misconduct. The letter emphasized that any liability by CrowdStrike is contractually capped at a single-digit million amount.

CrowdStrike also highlighted its proactive steps in response to the outage, noting that its CEO contacted Delta’s CEO to offer onsite assistance, which reportedly received no response. The firm offered free consulting advice to Delta to help mitigate the situation.

Impact on Delta Air Lines:

The outage led to the cancellation of over 6,000 flights over six days, affecting more than 500,000 passengers. The U.S. Transportation Department is currently investigating Delta to understand why it took the airline longer to recover than other carriers.

Delta’s letter to U.S. lawmakers revealed that the faulty update from CrowdStrike impacted more than half of its computers, including crucial workstations across its network. This necessitated a manual recovery of its complex IT system, which manages crew tracking and gating software.

Legal and Financial Implications:

CrowdStrike’s letter pointed out that if Delta proceeds with a lawsuit, it must explain why other airlines recovered faster from similar challenges and why Delta declined the free onsite help offered by CrowdStrike.

A CrowdStrike spokesperson emphasized the importance of cooperation in finding a resolution, criticizing the potential lawsuit as unconstructive public posturing.