Business
Congress Summons CrowdStrike CEO to Explain Company’s Involvement in Major Global Tech Outage
Republicans leading the House Homeland Security Committee are demanding clarity about the recent global tech outage.
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. House are urging CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz to provide testimony regarding the cybersecurity firm’s involvement in a massive technical disruption. The outage disrupted flights, banks, hospitals, and other services worldwide.
CrowdStrike announced that a significant number of the millions of affected computers are operational again. This came after a defective update from the company caused the disruptions. As people await a more detailed analysis, high-level government officials are seeking comprehensive answers.
Representative Mark E. Green of Tennessee and Representative Andrew Garbarino of New York penned a letter demanding explanations. “We appreciate CrowdStrike’s initial response, but the extent of this incident cannot be overlooked,” the letter stated. They emphasized the importance of understanding the cause and future prevention measures.
About 8.5 million devices running on Microsoft’s Windows OS suffered due to the faulty update. Affected companies have often had to manually fix the errors, leading to significant operational delays. CrowdStrike shared on Sunday that they are working on faster remediation techniques. They are also in active contact with congressional committees regarding the issue.
The Texas-based firm’s shares plummeted by over 20% following the incident, resulting in a substantial loss in market value.
The wide-scale effects have attracted attention from government regulators, raising questions about potential antitrust concerns. Although no immediate actions have been announced, scrutiny from authorities like the Federal Trade Commission is increasing.
FTC Chair Lina Khan emphasized the risk of systemic fragility due to concentrated dependencies in various sectors. “One glitch can crash multiple industries, affecting millions. These incidents showcase the vulnerabilities in our systems,” Khan noted on social media platform X.
The incident serves as a critical reminder of the far-reaching impacts of technological failures in an interconnected world.