CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) shares have dropped approximately 4% in premarket trading following a CNBC report that Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) has enlisted top attorney David Boies to seek damages from both the cybersecurity firm and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) over the global IT outage on July 19.
David Boies, chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner, is known for his high-profile legal battles, including representing the U.S. government in its antitrust case against Microsoft and advocating for same-sex marriage rights in California. The outage, which was triggered by a defective CrowdStrike software update, resulted in significant operational disruptions, with Delta being the most affected major airline, experiencing widespread flight cancellations and delays.
CrowdStrike and Delta’s Response
In response to the CNBC report, a CrowdStrike spokesperson stated, “We are aware of the reporting but have no knowledge of a lawsuit and have no further comment.” Delta Air Lines also declined to comment, and Microsoft did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Impact and Investigation
The U.S. Department of Transportation has launched an investigation into Delta’s flight delays and cancellations following the outage. Delta faced substantial operational challenges due to the disruption, which impacted its crew scheduling tools and complicated efforts to manage rescheduled flights. In contrast, competitors United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) were able to restore their services more quickly.
Delta’s recent financial performance reflects the fallout from the outage. The airline reported second-quarter profit below estimates despite achieving record revenue. However, Delta’s shares have increased over 7% this year, with a slight rise in premarket trading following the news.
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