Delta CEO Blames CrowdStrike, Microsoft for $500M Loss, 32% Stock Drop in IT Outage

Aug 5, 2024, 10:11 AM

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has criticized cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and Microsoft following a global IT outage on July 19, which he claims cost the airline $500 million. The outage, caused by a faulty CrowdStrike software update, disrupted operations for five days and affected 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. In response, Delta has hired attorney David Boies to seek damages. Meanwhile, CrowdStrike faces multiple lawsuits from shareholders and air travelers, who accuse the company of making false and misleading statements about its technology, leading to a 32% stock drop and a $25 billion market value loss. CrowdStrike has denied responsibility, arguing that Delta rejected offers of assistance during the outage and suggesting that the airline's IT decisions contributed to the prolonged disruption. Delta incurred tens of millions of dollars per day in compensation costs.