CrowdStrike says it is not to blame for Delta’s days interruption

CrowdStrike refutes Delta Air Lines’ claims that the cybersecurity firm is to blame for the multi-day flight disruption following last month’s catastrophic system outage, saying the airline rejected repeated offers to help restore systems affected.

CrowdStrike reiterated its apology to Delta in a letter responding to public comments about the airline seeking legal action, but said it “strongly rejects any allegation that it was grossly negligent or committed intentional misconduct.” CrowdStrike claims that the threat of litigation “contributed to a misleading narrative that CrowdStrike is responsible for Delta’s IT decisions and response to the outage,” noting that competing airlines restored their operations much more quickly.

“CrowdStrike’s CEO has personally contacted Delta’s CEO to offer on-site assistance but has not received a response,” CrowdStrike attorney Michael Carlinsky said in the letter. Carlinsky said CrowdStrike made several other attempts to provide assistance, including an offer of on-site support, but was told resources were not needed for the latter.

“If Delta goes down this path, Delta will have to explain to the public, its shareholders and, ultimately, the jury why CrowdStrike took responsibility for its actions – quickly, transparently and constructively – while Delta did not did,” Carlinsky said. The letter also notes that CrowdStrike’s contractual liability is limited “in the single-digit millions” and that the company “will respond aggressively” to the litigation “if forced to do so.” We have reached out to Delta for comment and will update this story if we hear back.