CrowdStrike CEO to Testify on Global Outage to the US House Committee

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz is set to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee about a massive outage caused by a faulty update, which disrupted Windows PCs and brought flights, hospital procedures, and broadcasters to a standstill on Friday, as reported by The Washington Post.

The letter addressed to the CrowdStrike CEO read, “We cannot ignore the magnitude of this incident, which some have claimed is the largest IT outage in history. In less than one day, we have seen major impacts on key functions of the global economy, including aviation, healthcare, banking, media, and emergency services. Recognizing that Americans will undoubtedly feel the lasting, real-world consequences of this incident, they deserve to know in detail how this incident happened and the mitigation steps CrowdStrike is taking."

“Recognizing that Americans will undoubtedly feel the lasting, real-world consequences of this incident, they deserve to know in detail how this incident happened and the mitigation steps CrowdStrike is taking,” wrote Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-TN) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) in a letter. They requested that CrowdStrike schedule a hearing with the subcommittee by Wednesday.

The letter underscores that CrowdStrike’s efforts to resolve the technical failure are ongoing. Even on Monday, three days after the initial meltdown, Delta was still dealing with flight cancellations and widespread Blue Screens of Death.

Kurtz explained that the outage was triggered by a faulty update and emphasized that it was not a cyberattack or security threat. He reassured the public via social media on Friday, stating that the massive outage was “not a security or cyber incident.” Instead, he identified “an issue with a Falcon content update for Windows Hosts,” referring to the company’s security software.

CrowdStrike spokesperson Kevin Benacci stated that the company “is actively in contact with relevant Congressional Committees. Briefings and other engagement timelines may be disclosed at Members’ discretion.”

According to Jake Moore, Global Security Advisor at ESET, a cybersecurity company, “The inconvenience caused by the loss of access to services for thousands of people serves as a reminder of our dependence on Big Tech such as Microsoft in running our daily lives and businesses. Upgrades and maintenance to systems and networks can unintentionally include small errors, which can have wide-reaching consequences.”