CrowdStrike outage cost economy ‘tens of billions of dollars’, and firms want to recoup losses
- CrowdStrike’s outage affected business operations worldwide, and firms are turning to cyber insurance providers to regain their losses
Friday’s massive CrowdStrike outage grounded businesses and services worldwide to a screeching halt. Now, some of those affected are looking to recoup their losses.
Damages to businesses included grounded flights, which left thousands of passengers stranded at airports, delivery delays, and closed shops and amusement parks.
“Economic damages could reach tens of billions of dollars,” said Nir Perry, CEO of cyber insurance risk platform Cyberwrite.
CrowdStrike only owes customers a refund of its subscription fees – it does not have to cover the money businesses lost from the interruption. A representative for CrowdStrike did not respond to a request for comment on Friday about how the company will enforce its terms and conditions.
Some companies affected by the outage are turning to their insurance providers to cover losses. Bloomberg reported on Friday, that an executive with Marsh, the world’s largest insurance brokerage, that more than 75 clients have prepared to file claims in the wake of the cybersecurity meltdown.
The US House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee has sent a letter to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz asking him to testify on the global tech outage.
The letter urges Kurtz to schedule a hearing with a subcommittee of the panel – the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection – by Wednesday.
