Delta Claps CrowdStrike for $500 Million in Damages After Software Update Cripples Flights...

I’ll be honest—I never thought I’d live to see the day when an airline would sue a cybersecurity company over a friggin software update. But here we are, friends. In the latest episode of “Who’s Fault is it Anyway?,” Delta Air Lines just slapped CrowdStrike with a lawsuit after a July tech meltdown grounded thousands of flights and created chaos for over a million passengers.

(Source: Wall Street Journal) 

In short, Delta’s suing CrowdStrike in Georgia state court, claiming that the botched software update from the cybersecurity firm (that left the world in shambles for a cool minute), resulted in mass flight cancellations, leaving 1.3 million travelers stranded and racking up more than $500 million in costs. Ooof. 

(Source: Giphy) 

According to Delta, CrowdStrike “forced untested and faulty updates” onto 8.5 million Windows computers, including the ones running Delta’s operations. Naturally, the whole thing crashed harder than Microsoft’s stock when Clippy was introduced. The result forced Delta to cancel 7,000 flights over five days, making the airline’s IT meltdown look like an episode of "Black Mirror" no one asked for. 

On the other hand, CrowdStrike (clearly the one in fault, I must say) is not lying down and taking it. In fact, they’ve hit back, saying Delta’s claims are full of “misinformation” and that the airline is just looking for a scapegoat to cover up its own ancient IT systems… LOL. According to CrowdStrike, this isn’t their fault, and Delta needs to take a good, hard look in the mirror. Basically saying maybe their billion-dollar IT investments weren't spent in the right places? 

(Source: PYMTS) 

But still, you can’t deny the fact that whatever the cause (obviously CrowdStrike), it crippled Delta’s entire operation. Meaning that if CrowdStrike had tested the update on even one computer before rolling it out, the whole mess could’ve been avoided. 

For this reason, Delta’s not just suing for the $500 million in out-of-pocket losses—they’re also going after punitive damages, litigation costs, and compensation for “reputational harm.” Because let’s be real, when people think Delta, they’re not supposed to think “IT disaster.” They’re supposed to think “overpriced snacks and a 50/50 chance your flight is on time”, amirite? 

(Source: Newsweek) 

Now of course, this all comes after CrowdStrike basically admitted it’s own guilt, telling Congress their “deeply sorry” for the faulty update, and they’re working hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But they also mentioned that other airlines bounced back a lot faster than Delta, which raises the question: Is Delta’s technology really as cutting-edge as they claim, or are they flying with software as outdated as the Nokia 3310?

(Source: Giphy) 

Of course, the U.S. Transportation Department is now in the mix, investigating what exactly went down during this whole debacle. Meanwhile, Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, is on a warpath, telling CNBC that the “havoc created” by CrowdStrike deserves full compensation. Translation: This is a perfect storm of corporate finger-pointing, and neither side is backing down. Delta wants blood (and half a billion dollars), while CrowdStrike says the airline should’ve spent more time upgrading its systems and less time blaming everyone else.

In the end, this fiasco is only heating up more and more as legal proceedings follow. But the big question is: Will Delta get a massive payday? Or will CrowdStrike manage to dodge a $500 million bullet? Only time will tell, but in the meantime keep an eye on this story going forward - and of course, the impact it has on stock prices. 

As always, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time… 

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