CrowdStrike fires back at Delta, claiming the airline ignored offers of help during service meltdown

CrowdStrike fired back at Delta after the airline’s CEO lashed out at the cybersecurity firm for computer problems that he said cost Delta $500 million. CrowdStrike claimed Delta would have to explain its own IT shortcomings in any litigation, and that it ignored CrowdStrike’s offers of assistance.

CrowdStrike fired back at Delta after the airline’s CEO lashed out at the cybersecurity firm for computer problems that he said cost Delta $500 million. CrowdStrike claimed Delta would have to explain its own IT shortcomings in any litigation, and that it ignored CrowdStrike’s offers of assistance. In a letter from CrowdStrike’s legal counsel to Delta’s legal counsel on Sunday, the cybersecurity firm said it was “highly disappointed by Delta’s suggestion that CrowdStrike acted inappropriately and strongly rejects any allegation that it was grossly negligent or committed willful misconduct.” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz offered online assistance personally to Delta CEO Ed Bastian but received no response, the letter said, adding that Delta later told CrowdStrike no help was needed during the airline’s nearly weeklong service outage that canceled thousands of flights. Delta’s public litigation threat “contributed to a misleading narrative that CrowdStrike is responsible for Delta’s IT decisions and response to the outage,” attorney Michael Carlinsky wrote in the letter, “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.” CrowdStrike’s flawed software update caused widespread computer outages on July 19 at Delta and hundreds of other companies around the globe. But last week, Bastian claimed CrowdStrike was nowhere to be found during the meltdown.