ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines sued CrowdStrike on Friday, claiming the cybersecurity company cut corners and caused a global technology outage that led to thousands of canceled flights in July.
The airline is seeking compensation and damages for the outage, which started with a faulty update sent to several million Microsoft computers. Delta said the outage crippled its operations for several days and cost more than $500 million in lost revenue and additional costs.
CrowdStrike said Delta is providing “misinformation,” doesn’t understand cybersecurity and is trying to shift blame for the slow recovery from the outage.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating why Delta took longer to recover than other airlines. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the department would also investigate complaints about Delta customer service during the outage, including long wait times for assistance and reports that unaccompanied minors were stranded at airports.
In its lawsuit, Delta claims the outage occurred because CrowdStrike failed to test the update before rolling it out globally.
Delta canceled approximately 7,000 flights over a five-day period during the peak summer holiday season. The outage also affected banks, hospitals and other businesses.
“CrowdStrike caused a global catastrophe because it cut corners, took shortcuts, and circumvented the testing and certification processes it advertised for its own benefit and profit,” Delta said in the lawsuit, which was filed in Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia. near the company’s headquarters.
A spokesperson for CrowdStrike said the company was trying to resolve the dispute; one of its lawyers said in August that CrowdStrike’s liability to Delta was less than $10 million.
The spokesperson said Delta’s claims are based on “misinformation, demonstrate a lack of understanding of how modern cybersecurity works, and reflect a desperate attempt to shift blame for the slow recovery to its inability to address legacy IT infrastructure.” to modernize.”
