Can a $10 CrowdStrike gift card apology really fix the damage?

Did you get your CrowdStrike gift card apology? CrowdStrike recently made headlines for a major service disruption caused by a problematic software update. In an effort to apologize and make amends, the company issued $10 Uber Eats gift cards to affected partners and employees. Let’s briefly remind you of the CrowdStrike outage and decide whether their apologies are enough or not.

The incident

On July 19, 2024, a faulty update from CrowdStrike led to a widespread outage affecting approximately 8.5 million Windows devices. The update resulted in the infamous “blue screen of death” (BSOD), signaling a critical failure in the operating system.

Users affected by the CrowdStrike outage are having BSOD problems (Image credit)

This outage had significant consequences:

• Airport delays: Major international airports, including those in Amsterdam, Berlin, Dubai, and London, experienced disruptions.

If you're due to travel today and have not already checked-in for your flight, you can do so at the airport. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of this Global 3rd party IT outage.

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) July 19, 2024

• Hospital interruptions: Several hospitals had to reschedule surgeries due to system failures.

The disruption led to significant operational issues, including delays at international airports and interruptions in hospitals and businesses (Credit)

• Business interruptions: Numerous businesses worldwide were paralyzed, impacting daily operations and productivity.

pic.twitter.com/4dnNPawEJG

— Sky Group (@SkyGroup) July 19, 2024

Even there CrowdStrike insider trading claims arose after the issue. The scale of the problem was substantial, and the impact on global operations was severe until the fix was revealed.

The CrowdStrike gift card apology: A $10 gift card for Uber Eats

In response to the chaos, CrowdStrike attempted to offer a token of apology to its partners and employees. The company sent out $10 Uber Eats gift cards with a message of thanks. The email stated:

• Acknowledgment of Impact: The company recognized the extra work caused by the incident.
• Apology and Gratitude: It expressed heartfelt thanks and apologies for the inconvenience.
• Offer: “To express our gratitude, your next cup of coffee or late-night snack is on us!”

CrowdStrike’s July 2024 software update failure caused a major outage affecting 8.5 million Windows devices (Credit)

This gesture was meant to be a small token of appreciation and acknowledgment of the trouble caused by the disruption, but things still didn’t go well.

Again there is a problem: Faulty vouchers

According to TechCrunch, the CrowdStrike gift card apology was marred by its own issues. Recipients of the gift cards encountered problems when trying to redeem them:

• Invalid vouchers: Many users received error messages stating that their vouchers had been canceled or were no longer valid.
• Fraudulent activity: According to CrowdStrike, Uber flagged the gift cards as fraudulent due to an unusually high rate of redemption attempts.

CrowdStrike’s spokesperson, Kevin Benacci, confirmed that the company sent the cards but noted that the high usage rates triggered Uber’s fraud detection system, leading to the cancellation of the vouchers.  CEO George Kurtz and Chief Security Officer Shawn Henry have both apologized for the incident. Kurtz promised full transparency and committed to addressing the root cause of the update failure.

The situation has attracted significant attention, including calls for congressional hearings. The U.S. Congress has requested that Kurtz testify about the incident and explain the company’s response.

The CrowdStrike gift card apology faced issues, including invalid vouchers and fraud detection problems, further complicating the apology effort (Credit)

A $10 gift card from CrowdStrike is unlikely to adequately address the extensive damage caused by the recent software update failure. While the gesture might be seen as a token of apology, it falls short of compensating for the significant disruptions experienced by affected businesses, hospitals, and airports. The scale of the incident, which involved millions of devices and substantial operational interruptions, demands more substantial remedies and effective solutions to rebuild trust and address the root causes of the problem.

In summary, while the CrowdStrike gift card apology card was intended as a goodwill gesture, its execution has been problematic.