Delta sues cybersecurity company CrowdStrike over technology outage that caused flights to be canceled

ATLANTA – Delta Air Lines sued CrowdStrike on Friday, claiming the cybersecurity company cut corners and caused a worldwide technology outage in July that led to the cancellation of thousands of flights.

The airline is seeking compensatory and punitive damages over the outage, which began when a faulty update was pushed to several million Microsoft computers. Delta said the outage disrupted its operations for several days, resulting in more than $500 million in lost revenue and extra expenses.

CrowdStrike did not immediately comment, but an attorney representing the company noted this summer that other airlines recovered from outages much more quickly and said Delta was misleading in its response.

US Department of Transportation is investigating Delta’s cause took longer to heal than other carriers. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the department will review complaints about Delta customer service The outage included long waits for assistance and reports of unaccompanied children being stranded at airports.

Delta claims in its lawsuit that the outage occurred because CrowdStrike failed to test the update before releasing it worldwide.

Delta canceled nearly 7,000 flights over a five-day period during the busy summer vacation season. The outage also affected banks, hospitals and other businesses.

“CrowdStrike has caused a global disaster because it cuts corners, takes shortcuts, and circumvents the testing and certification processes it advertises for its own benefit and profit,” Delta said in the lawsuit filed in Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia. he said. close to the company’s headquarters.

After Delta hired an attorney to pursue a claim, CrowdStrike hired its own legal counsel and responded. Michael Carlinsky, an attorney for the tech firm, said Delta “contributed to a misleading narrative that CrowdStrike was responsible for Delta’s IT decisions and response to the outage.” CrowdStrike’s liability should be less than $10 million, Carlinsky said.