CrowdStrike is being sued by its shareholders after a faulty update released on July 19, 2024 by CrowdStrike Falcon caused Windows systems to display the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) screen. The flawed release caused widespread global disruptions, impacting critical infrastructure such as airports, hospitals, banks, and government services. It caused 8.5 million Microsoft Windows systems globally to crash.
The lawsuit accuses CrowdStrike executives of making “false and misleading” statements that the company’s software updates were adequately tested.
CrowdStrike denies the allegations and has announced it will oppose the proposed class action lawsuit.
“We believe this case lacks merit and we will vigorously defend the company,” a spokesperson said.
Delta Air Lines’ CEO, Ed Bastian, revealed in a recent CNBC interview that the outage caused by Crowdstrike led to $500 million in losses for the airline. Delta is now seeking compensation from CrowdStrike, as well as from Microsoft.
Both CrowdStrike and Microsoft denied any wrongdoing. CrowdStrike pointed out that “no other US airline had cancelled one-tenth as many flights”. Microsoft pointed out that Delta’s IT systems were outdated.
The company’s share price dropped 32% in the 12 days after the incident, causing a loss in market value of $25 billion.
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