In a very public rebuke to Delta Airlines, CrowdStrike claims that it’s not responsible for the carrier’s losses during the recent tech outage caused by a botched software update by the cybersecurity company.
Responding to Delta’s recent comments and the fact that it has hired a prominent lawyer, Crowdstrike said in a letter that the company’s threats of a lawsuit have contributed to a “misleading narrative” that the cybersecurity firm was solely responsible for the airline’s response to the outage.
The historic outage, which affected 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices in mid-July, was said to have been caused by CrowdStrike's release of an untested security software patch. US lawmakers have already called George Kurtz, CrowdStrike’s CEO, to testify on Capitol Hill.
Delta’s chief executive, Ed Bastian, said last week that the company had to cancel around 7,000 flights and is now charging $500 million for refunds. According to CNBC, the company also hired a prominent litigation firm to assist it in pursuing legal claims against CrowdStrike.
However, CrowdStrike’s response has been swift and aggressive. A letter on Sunday from the technology firm's attorneys, shared in full on Reddit, said that Delta failed to respond to an offer for assistance in the wake of last month’s incident.
Within hours of the incident, CrowdStrike “contacted Delta to offer assistance and ensure that Delta was aware of available remediation. Additionally, CrowdStrike’s CEO personally contacted Delta’s CEO to offer onsite assistance but received no response,” said the letter.
Thus, CrowdStrike does not feel responsible for Delta’s own IT decision, the firm’s lawyers pointed out. According to them, litigation wouldn’t help the airline.
“Should Delta pursue this path, Delta will have to explain to the public, its shareholders, and ultimately a jury why CrowdStrike took responsibility for its actions – swiftly, transparently, and constructively – while Delta did not,” wrote Michael Carlinsky, an attorney at the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
In the preliminary Post Incident Review, CrowdStrike admitted that it over-relied on its past successes and promised improvements.
However, the firm believes Delta’s threats are empty. What’s more, in the case of a public legal battle, Delta should explain quite a few things, CrowdStrike’s lawyers said.
For instance, the letter asking why Delta’s competitors “all restored operations much faster” and why the company turned down onsite help from CrowdStrike. Delta would also be asked to explain the design and operational resiliency capabilities of its IT infrastructure.
CrowdStrike has also demanded that Delta “preserve all documents, records, and communications of any kind – including emails, text messages, and other communications – in the possession, custody, or control of Delta, its officers and directors, and employees” related to the recent outage.
After last week’s reports that Delta would seek damages from CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company’s shares tumbled 11% to their lowest level this year.
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