Delta vs. CrowdStrike: Cybersecurity Clash in Court

Delta Air Lines pursues legal action against CrowdStrike over a major outage caused by alleged software negligence. A judge allows various claims, including gross negligence and computer trespass, to proceed. Delta seeks accountability for the $550 million impact, as a federal judge also demands answers for passenger grievances.

Delta Air Lines will pursue claims in its lawsuit against cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike for a major computer outage last July, which led to 7,000 flight cancellations. The Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled that Delta could move forward on allegations of gross negligence and computer trespass related to the incident.

The outage occurred after CrowdStrike issued a defective update for its Falcon software, affecting more than 8 million computers. Judge Kelly Lee Ellerbe noted that proper testing could have prevented the error. Despite this ruling, CrowdStrike's lawyer remains confident that the case will prove unsubstantial or be limited to minimal damages.

Delta argues the outage resulted in significant financial losses, totaling $550 million, though offset by $50 million in fuel savings. Meanwhile, Delta faces a proposed class-action lawsuit from passengers seeking full refunds for their disrupted travel plans.

(With inputs from agencies.)