HomeNewsDelta lashes out at...

Delta lashes out at CrowdStrike for its ‘vastly inadequate’ apology

Delta Airlines passengers line up for agent assistance at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on July 22, 2024. Jessica McGowan/Getty Images

The war of words over Delta’s massive service meltdown, set off by CrowdStrike’s disastrous software update, has grown ugly.

In a letter sent Thursday to CrowdStrike’s attorneys written by Delta’s high-powered lawyer, David Boies, the airline lashed out at the cybersecurity company, which has apologized for introducing a bug that led to a global tech outage. Although CrowdStrike said it took responsibility for the initial outage, it has said Delta was responsible for thousands of cancellations that piled up over the course of a week – long after its competitors came back online.

Boies, hired to lead Delta’s lawsuit against CrowdStrike, said the tech company was “grossly negligent” and was solely responsible for the outage.

“We appreciate CrowdStrike’s ‘apology to Delta,’” said Boies. “However, an apology alone in these circumstances is vastly inadequate, and when accompanied by misstatements and attempts to shift the blame to Delta of doubtful sincerity.”

Delta canceled 7,000 flights between July 19 and July 24 as a result of the outage. In a regulatory filing Thursday, Delta reiterated the cancellations would cost the company $500 million, mostly because of reimbursements it had to pay to customers.

CrowdStrike and Microsoft over the past week have claimed Delta’s outage lasted substantially longer than its rivals’ service downtime, because Delta refused their help to recover and because Delta failed to modernize its information technology systems.

But Boies called Delta’s IT systems “world class” and claimed Delta’s outage lasted longer because it was so heavily reliant on CrowdStrike and Microsoft.

“Contrary to your misrepresentation of Delta’s technology, the reason for Delta’s disproportionate experience relative to other airlines, was its reliance on CrowdStrike and Microsoft,” Boies said. “Delta’s reliance on CrowdStrike and Microsoft actually exacerbated its experience in the CrowdStrike-caused disaster.”

Boies said 60% of Delta’s mission-critical systems depended on Microsoft or CrowdStrike, which works to prevent breaches and intrusions in systems. He also disputed the companies’ claims that Delta turned down help and worked around the clock to bring Delta back online.

To fix systems brought down by CrowdStrike, computers needed to be restarted, manually, one by one. Delta claimed that after CrowdStrike discovered a way to automate the process, CrowdStrike introduced yet another bug that prevented many of its computers from coming back online.

“CrowdStrike also did not work “tirelessly” to help Delta restore its systems,” Boies said. “CrowdStrike’s offers of assistance during the first 65 hours of the outage simply referred Delta to CrowdStrike’s publicly available remediation website.”

In response, CrowdStrike said in a statement that its CEO, George Kurtz, called Delta board member David DeWalt within four hours after the July 19th outage began, and DeWalt posted on LinkedIn that the tech company “have done an incredible job.”

“Delta continues to push a misleading narrative,” a CrowdStrike spokesperson said in a statement. “CrowdStrike’s and Delta’s teams worked closely together within hours of the incident, with CrowdStrike providing technical support beyond what was available on the website.”

The battle between Delta and the tech companies kicked off late last month when Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview on CNBC that CrowdStrike was willfully negligent in its post-crash conduct: “They haven’t offered us anything,” Bastian said. “Free consulting advice to help us.”

After Boies sent his first letters to CrowdStrike and Microsoft earlier this month, both companies lashed out in response. CrowdStrike said Delta ignored its help, and Microsoft said Delta’s mismanagement contributed to the cancellations.

As the companies go back and forth in an increasingly public and nasty battle, Delta customers this week have filed a class-action lawsuit, alleging that Delta refused or conditioned refunds to passengers as it struggled with mass cancellations. The US Department of Transportation is investigating those claims.

- A word from our sponsors -

spot_img

Most Popular

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

More from Author

China’s economy is in bad shape. Can its ‘whatever-it-takes’ stimulus effort turn things around?

After four miserable years, a soaring stock market has brought relief...

California governor vetoes contentious AI safety bill

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday vetoed a hotly contested artificial intelligence safety bill,...

- A word from our sponsors -

spot_img

Read Now

WNBA Playoffs: Las Vegas Aces stave off elimination and keep three-peat hopes alive with win against New York Liberty

As the WNBA season hurtles towards its conclusion and four teams compete for a spot in the finals, the Las Vegas Aces staved off elimination with a win against the New York Liberty, while Napheesa Collier made franchise history for the Minnesota Lynx as they took a 2-1 series lead over...

China’s economy is in bad shape. Can its ‘whatever-it-takes’ stimulus effort turn things around?

After four miserable years, a soaring stock market has brought relief for Francis Lun, who runs a small 10-person brokerage in Hong Kong. Since the beginning of 2020, he’s seen the city’s lifeblood, its Hang Seng Index, experience an unprecedented consecutive decline due to economic woes and pandemic...

European soccer round-up: Manchester United sinks to another humiliating defeat, Madrid derby marred by fan trouble

If Manchester United fans thought that this season would be a chance to start fresh, any early-season optimism seems to have been misplaced. United fell to a third league defeat in six games on Sunday, losing 3-0 at home against Tottenham amid captain Bruno Fernandes’ red card. There were dramatic results...

California governor vetoes contentious AI safety bill

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday vetoed a hotly contested artificial intelligence safety bill, after the tech industry raised objections, saying it could drive AI companies from the state and hinder innovation. Newsom said he had asked leading experts on Generative AI to help California “develop workable guardrails” that focus “on developing...

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs wants to testify at his trial, lawyer says: ‘I don’t know that I can keep him off the stand’

Sean “Diddy” Combs wants to testify at his criminal trial for charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, according to his attorney. “I don’t know that I can keep him off the stand. He is very eager to tell his story,” the embattled rap mogul’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said...

WNBA playoffs: Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever swept in first round, Diana Taurasi plays potentially last ever game

The final four of the 2024 WNBA playoffs are set. The first round of the postseason concluded on Wednesday, with the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx booking their spots in the semifinals. Here’s everything you need to know about which squads are moving on, and which groups are heading home. Sun sweep...

US to return a trove of nearly 300 history-spanning antiquities to India

The US is returning 297 history-spanning antiquities stolen or smuggled from India, many dating back centuries. Marking the handover, President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posed for a photo in front of several of the artifacts, during a recent meeting between the two leaders. In July,...

Melania Trump was paid for a rare appearance at a political event. It’s not clear who cut the unusual six-figure check

Melania Trump has barely been seen on the campaign trail this year. One of the few times she has appeared at a political event, she’s received a six-figure paycheck – a highly unusual move for the spouse of a candidate. The former first lady spoke at two political...

TOLUNA

Welcome to Toluna, the fastest, most fun, easiest way to ask and answer questions through threads and polls. It's a fun global community that lets you express your opinions online and lets you change the future of products!You can ask anything you want to other members and...

Beauty queen at center of South Africa xenophobia spat crowned Miss Universe Nigeria

 Chidimma Adetshina, a beauty pageant contestant who faced a wave of hostility in South Africa after questions arose about her nationality, has been crowned Miss Universe Nigeria. Adetshina, age 23, triumphed at the pageant held in Lagos on Saturday night. She will represent Nigeria in the Miss Universe competition in Mexico in November. Last...

Prime Opinions – Survey Rewards

Prime Opinions is the most reputable platform out there that pays users for completing surveys.Sign up for free to take easy surveys, share your shopping habits, and even discuss your favorite sports teams.After completing each survey, you will be rewarded with accumulated points that can be redeemed...

The boredom scroll on socials may be making your problem worse, study says

Puppies, dancing babies, celebrity soundbites: A common go-to salve for a bout of boredom is to swipe through videos on your social media platform of choice. But that habit is likely making your problem even worse, according to new research. “Our research shows that while people fast-forward or...