A faulty software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has caused chaos around the world, crashing more than 8.5 million Microsoft Windows computers. The incident has led to a lawsuit filed by shareholders accusing the company of making false and misleading statements about its software testing.
The lawsuit claims that CrowdStrike’s share price dropped 32% in the 12 days following the incident, resulting in a loss of market value of $25 billion. The company denies the allegations and plans to defend itself against the proposed class action lawsuit.
Despite the massive global IT outage, CrowdStrike has stated that affected computers are now back to normal. The firm has attributed the incident to a “bug” in a system designed to ensure software updates worked properly, which led to undetected problematic content data in a file.
The chief executive of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian, revealed in an interview that the disruption caused by the outage cost the airline $500 million, including lost revenue and compensation to passengers. Delta is reportedly preparing to seek compensation from CrowdStrike for the damages incurred.
CrowdStrike has pledged to prevent a repeat of the incident with better software testing and checks, including increased scrutiny from developers. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for investors who owned CrowdStrike shares between 29 November and 29 July, citing statements made by the company’s chief executive regarding the validation and testing of its software.
