Shares of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike have plunged more than 13% as the company considers the consequences of a global IT outage.
Chief security officer Sean Henry said the incident was a “big blow” to the company, which had previously been one of the most trusted names in the industry.
“We have let down those we work to protect and to say we have been devastated is a massive understatement,” he said.
Many businesses are still recovering after a faulty “content update” crashed 8.5 million Microsoft Windows computers around the world last week.
In some cases, the issue requires a manual restart.
Henry, a former FBI executive assistant director, said this weekend was the “most challenging 48 hours” in his 12 years at the company.
He promised to use the event as an opportunity to “better and stronger than ever”.
“It’s a huge blow to have the confidence we’ve built up in bits and pieces over the years evaporate in a matter of hours,” he said. In a LinkedIn post on Monday.
“But this pales in comparison to the pain we’ve caused our customers and partners.”
Delta Air Lines is one of the hardest-hit airlines, having canceled more than 4,000 flights since Friday, including more than 800 on Monday, According to external tracking firm Flight Aware.
This is far more than any other airline.
Delta Air Lines said Monday that more than half of its IT systems are Windows-based and require manual fixes. The company said the software used to guide flight staffing required the most time and manual support to fix.
“Everyone in our company is working around the clock to get this business to the level it needs to be,” Delta boss Ed Bastian said in a video message to employees on Monday.
A day earlier, he apologized to customers, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned that the government had received complaints about the company’s “ongoing disruptions and unacceptable customer service.”
Other entities, such as the NHS, say their systems are functioning more normally.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Cabinet Office minister Ellie Reeves said most industries affected by the CrowdStrike breach had largely recovered, including aviation, rail and maritime systems.
But she warned that some “small-scale disruptions” would continue, including to the NHS.
She added that the government would work with the National Cyber Security Center and other partners to “review lessons learned.”
The minister told MPs the incident showed how dependent the modern world is on “complex and interconnected IT systems and how important it is to be prepared for such events”.
Founded in 2011, CrowdStrike has approximately 29,000 customers worldwide, including US and UK government agencies and some of the world’s largest companies.
Before the incident this year, the company’s stock price had risen nearly 40%.
it said on sunday A “significant number” of devices affected by a global IT outage were brought back online on Friday.
But CrowdStrike’s stock price fell sharply on Monday after falling 11% on Friday, reflecting the seriousness of the incident. The company’s shares closed below $264, down more than 13%.
Some investors are betting the company’s rivals will benefit from its current woes, which have exposed the world’s dependence on one giant business and drawn the attention of antitrust regulators.
For example, Sentinel One’s stock price surged more than 8% on Monday.
Analysts said that while CrowdStrike’s stock price is hurt now, they don’t expect long-term damage to the business.
“The reality is, despite CrowdStrike’s huge failure last week, there are few alternatives to CrowdStrike and switching costs are high,” said Gene Munster, managing partner of Deepwater Asset Management, known for its technology investments. ) said. wrote on social media.
“In other words, when the company reports its July quarter in late August, I expect the commentary to hint at unknowns about near-term customer retention. That said, I expect long-term customer churn to be minimal.”
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said it’s critical for CrowdStrike to resolve its issues this week.
“This will take some time to resolve but does not change our positive long-term view on CrowdStrike or the cybersecurity industry,” he wrote in a note on Monday.
Reporting by Chris Vallance
