CrowdStrike fired back at Delta after the airline’s CEO blamed the cybersecurity firm for computer problems that allegedly cost Delta $500 million. CrowdStrike asserted that Delta must explain its own IT failures if litigation proceeds and claimed Delta ignored their offers of assistance.

In a letter to Delta’s legal counsel on Sunday, CrowdStrike expressed disappointment with Delta’s accusations and denied any gross negligence or misconduct. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz personally offered help to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, but Delta later declined assistance during the weeklong outage that canceled thousands of flights.

CrowdStrike’s attorney, Michael Carlinsky, stated that Delta’s public litigation threat created a false narrative blaming CrowdStrike for Delta’s IT issues. Carlinsky insisted that Delta must justify why it rejected CrowdStrike’s support and why other airlines recovered faster from the same outage. He also questioned Delta’s IT infrastructure resilience.

delta airlines july 19 2024 reuters
CrowdStrike’s letter challenged Delta to explain its prolonged service disruptions and noted that the cybersecurity firm is contractually limited in liabilities. While litigation would be regrettable, CrowdStrike is prepared to defend itself.

The outage on July 19, caused by a CrowdStrike software update, affected Delta and many other companies worldwide. Despite this, Bastian claimed CrowdStrike offered no help during the crisis.

Delta has yet to file a lawsuit. The airline referred inquiries to Bastian’s CNBC interview, where he emphasized the need to protect shareholders, customers, and employees from both financial and reputational damage.