CrowdStrike Sued by Passengers Over Worldwide Outage

Austin-based CrowdStrike is facing legal troubles after last month's worldwide outage.

A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against the cybersecurity company in federal court in Austin, Texas, by three travelers who accuse CrowdStrike of negligence. The outage also affected banks, hospitals, and emergency services worldwide.

"We believe this case lacks merit and we will vigorously defend the company." - CrowdStrike

The plaintiffs claim that the outage sent travelers into a frenzy, forcing them to incur additional expenses for lodging, meals, and alternative travel. The suit also alleges that some travelers missed work or suffered health issues from sleeping on airport floors. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages for all affected fliers.

This lawsuit comes after Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said there is "no choice" but to initiates legal action against CrowdStrike, blaming the company for $500 million in losses.

CrowdStrike has responded to the outage with public apologies and a blog post outlining operational changes, including adjustments to its update verification system and a move away from mass updates. The company also sent affected customers $10 Uber Eats gift cards, causing confusion and frustration, with some vouchers flagged as fraudulent due to high usage rates.

CrowdStrike is a major cybersecurity firm founded in 2011, known for its unique threat detection and response approach. Its flagship product, Falcon, uses AI and machine learning for real-time threat mitigation and has been praised for its versatility across devices and networks. Despite its positive reputation and successful identification of high-profile cyberattacks by North Korea, the company now faces significant legal and reputational challenges.

URLs:

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian's statement: <URL: https://bit.ly/3RN6CjT>

TechCrunch article on Uber Eats voucher: <URL:https://bit.ly/3Vx anteriores>

CrowdStrike's blog post on operational changes: <URL: https://bit.ly/CrowdBlog>