Delta Air Lines, CrowdStrike Sue Each Other Post-Global IT Outage

Delta Air Lines and CrowdStrike are suing one another in the aftermath of the global IT outage caused by the cybersecurity vendor's update in July.

According to CNBC, Delta is seeking damages to cover over $500 million in losses, along with litigation costs and punitive damages. Delta canceled thousands of flights and struggled to recover compared to its competitors. It said CrowdStrike’s software flaws reached its computers even though it had disabled automatic updates.

Delta filed its lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia. It accuses CrowdStrike of breach of contract and negligence.

The global IT outage impacted 8.5 million Windows devices. It affected airports, banks, hospitals, retailers and more. 

The IT outage occurred on July 19 and CrowdStrike said restoration was nearly complete on July 25.

Delta Argues CrowdStrike Could Have Prevented IT Outage

In its complaint, Delta alleges CrowdStrike “caused a global catastrophe because it cut corners, took shortcuts, and circumvented the very testing and certification processes it advertised, for its own benefit and profit.”

“If CrowdStrike had tested the faulty update on even one computer before deployment, the computer would have crashed,” it said.

Last month, Adam Meyers, senior vice president for counter adversary operations at CrowdStrike, issued an apology to the U.S. House of Representatives for the global IT outage. 

Related:How to Move Beyond the CrowdStrike Outage

CrowdStrike sent us the following statement on Delta’s lawsuit:   

“While we aimed to reach a business resolution that puts customers first, Delta has chosen a different path. Delta’s claims are based on disproven misinformation, demonstrate a lack of understanding of how modern cybersecurity works, and reflect a desperate attempt to shift blame for its slow recovery away from its failure to modernize its antiquated IT infrastructure.”

CrowdStrike filed its lawsuit against Delta in the U.S. District Court in Georgia.

“We have filed for a declaratory judgment to make it clear that CrowdStrike did not cause the harm that Delta claims, and they repeatedly refused assistance from both CrowdStrike and Microsoft,” it said. “Any claims of gross negligence and willful misconduct have no basis in fact.”