LONDON, July 25: CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm behind a recent global IT outage, is facing criticism for offering $10 UberEats vouchers as an apology for the disruption caused. The company's faulty software update on July 19 affected approximately 8.5 million computers worldwide, resulting in significant operational chaos for airlines, banks, and hospitals.

In an email to its partners, CrowdStrike acknowledged the extra work caused by the outage and offered the vouchers as a gesture of thanks. The message read: “To express our gratitude, your next cup of coffee or late-night snack is on us!” However, this gesture has been met with widespread derision.

Comments on social media criticized the apology, with one Reddit user describing it as an “absolute clown show” and another expressing frustration at the perceived inadequacy of the gesture. A LinkedIn user, identifying as a CrowdStrike partner, argued that the $10 credit did not compensate for the significant loss of man-hours and customer trust resulting from the incident.

CrowdStrike confirmed to the BBC that the vouchers were sent to “teammates and partners” who assisted with the fallout from the outage. However, issues arose when some recipients reported that the vouchers were flagged as fraudulent by Uber due to high usage rates.

The incident has raised questions about potential financial compensation for those affected. CrowdStrike has pledged to improve its software testing procedures to prevent future outages. The company’s review of the incident revealed a bug in the system designed to validate software updates, allowing problematic content to go undetected. CrowdStrike has promised enhanced testing and oversight to avoid similar issues in the future.

The faulty update caused significant disruptions, including the infamous “blue screen of death” on millions of PCs. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has apologized for the impact, but cybersecurity experts have pointed out major mistakes in the company's approach. Daniel Card, a cybersecurity consultant, criticized the lack of adequate safeguards, while researcher Kevin Beaumont noted the mistake of deploying updates to all customers simultaneously without phased testing.

According to insurance firm Parametrix, the top 500 US companies (excluding Microsoft) faced financial losses of approximately $5.4 billion due to the outage, with only a fraction of this amount insured.

The US government has launched an investigation into Delta Airlines’ handling of the outage, which led to numerous flight cancellations. Delta CEO Ed Bastian has assured customers that the airline expects to fully recover by Thursday.

CrowdStrike is expected to face further scrutiny, with CEO George Kurtz scheduled to testify before Congress. The House Committee on Homeland Security has demanded that the company address the national security risks associated with network dependency and provide a hearing by Wednesday evening.