By Anne Bucher, Top Class Actions, 2024-08-27
CrowdStrike class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiffs Christopher and Sara Harlan filed a class action lawsuit against CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. and CrowdStrike Inc.
- Why: The Harlans claim that CrowdStrike failed to adequately test its software update before pushing it out worldwide on July 19, directly causing global flight cancellations and other issues.
- Where: The CrowdStrike class action lawsuit was filed in Texas federal court.
A new CrowdStrike class action lawsuit claims the cybersecurity company simultaneously pushed out software updates to all of its computer networks, causing massive flight disruptions and Delta flight outages.
Plaintiffs Christopher and Sara Harlan allege CrowdStrike pushed its Falcon security platform on airlines.
“CrowdStrike attaches deeply within the Windows operating system to anticipate innovative hackers, but that deep-level attachment also gives CrowdStrike greater ability to trigger a computer failure,” the CrowdStrike class action lawsuit says.
The Harlans claim CrowdStrike “pushed out an ill-designed and poorly tested update to its Falcon software” on July 19, causing a massive computer outage for companies relying on the Crowdstrike software.
Due to the CrowdStrike outage, thousands of Delta's computers crashed and needed to be rebooted manually. Because vital information was stored in the computers and not accessible due to the outage, Delta was forced to cancel thousands of flights, according to the CrowdStrike class action.
Delta flight outages cost travelers time and money, plaintiffs say
Travelers affected by the Delta flight outages became stranded at various airports. In many cases, they were forced to secure hotel rooms or pay for alternative methods of transportation. Other affected travelers were unable to attend events for which they had already paid.
The Harlans say they were scheduled to fly home from their vacation in the Dominican Republic on July 22 and ended up stranded in Atlanta because of the Delta flight outages. They tried to reschedule their flight several times but those flights were allegedly canceled as well.
Due to the Delta flight outages, the plaintiffs say they incurred costs for a hotel room, Uber transportation, extra parking at the airport and an extra day of house-sitting.
The Harlans allege the Delta flight outages cost affected travelers millions of dollars. They say these damages were caused directly by the CrowdStrike software update.
A group of travelers recently filed another CrowdStrike class action lawsuit claiming the company is responsible for disrupting millions of computers and thousands of flights, costing travelers money to deal with the fallout.
