Delta Air Lines takes CrowdStrike to court over $500m global outage disruption

Delta Air Lines has filed a lawsuit against cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike following a catastrophic software update in July that led to 7,000 flight cancellations and disrupted travel plans for 1.3 million passengers.

The lawsuit, filed in Georgia’s Fulton County Superior Court, claims the faulty update caused “catastrophic” damage, affecting more than 8.5 million Microsoft Windows-based computers worldwide and costing the airline over $500 million in losses and expenses.

Delta alleges that CrowdStrike’s negligence in failing to test the update before deployment led to widespread system crashes. “If CrowdStrike had tested the faulty update on even one computer before deployment, the computer would have crashed,” the airline stated in its lawsuit.

The incident’s impact extended beyond Delta, affecting various industries including banks, healthcare providers, media companies, and hotel chains. The disruption was severe enough to prompt an investigation by the US Transportation Department.

CrowdStrike has strongly rejected Delta’s claims. “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 modernise its antiquated IT infrastructure,” a CrowdStrike spokesperson said.

Last month, CrowdStrike senior vice president Adam Meyers acknowledged the company’s role in the incident during a congressional hearing. “We are deeply sorry this happened and we are determined to prevent this from happening again,” Meyers told Congress.

The dispute has escalated further, with CrowdStrike’s attorney Michael Carlinsky questioning why other airlines recovered more quickly from the outage. In an August letter to Delta’s legal team, Carlinsky suggested the airline’s liability should be less than $10 million, significantly lower than Delta’s claimed losses.

Delta maintains it has invested billions in its IT infrastructure and “licensing and building some of the best technology solutions in the airline industry.” The airline is seeking compensation for out-of-pocket losses, lost profits, legal fees, and damages for reputational harm and future revenue losses.