Thought Leadership
CrowdStrike has strongly denied the allegations made by Delta Air Lines and cites the number of contractual liability.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian recently estimated the financial damage from the CrowdStrike incident at $500 million and announced legal action against the cybersecurity company. The airline had to cancel over 6,000 flights over a six-day period, affecting more than 500,000 passengers. Due to the lengthy restoration of operations, the US Department of Transportation has initiated an investigation.
According to Reuters, CrowdStrike has now responded with a letter from an external lawyer, expressing that the company is “very disappointed” with Delta’s insinuations and rejecting any accusation of gross negligence or misconduct. The cybersecurity company emphasized that the contractual liability is limited to a single-digit million dollar amount. Additionally, CrowdStrike offered Delta assistance immediately after the incident, and CrowdStrike’s CEO personally reached out to Delta’s CEO but received no response.
Delta had informed US representatives that the faulty update affected more than half of Delta’s computers, including many workstations at all airports in the Delta network. The airline emphasized the complexity of its IT system and the need for manual restoration.
CrowdStrike, in turn, raises questions about why Delta’s competitors, who faced similar challenges, were able to restore their operations much faster and why Delta declined the offered free on-site assistance.
A CrowdStrike spokesperson described Delta’s public stance regarding a possible lawsuit as “not constructive” and hopes for a cooperative solution. The development of this conflict between two long-standing business partners is being closely watched in the industry. It remains to be seen whether it will come to a court dispute or if both parties can reach an out-of-court settlement.
