CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz To Testify Before Congress On Faulty Update Causing Global Disruptions
The CEO of CrowdStrike Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD), George Kurtz, has been called upon by a U.S. congressional panel to testify regarding the recent worldwide tech outage. The panel has requested Kurtz to appear before the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection.
What Happened: The U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee has formally asked Kurtz to testify on the global tech outage that occurred last week, Reuters reported.
The outage was a result of a faulty update to CrowdStrike’s security software, which affected millions of devices running on Microsoft Corp‘s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows operating system.
The incident caused widespread disruptions across various industries, including aviation, finance, and healthcare. Although services were gradually restored, the episode raised concerns about the concentration of critical software in the hands of a few companies and the potential for future incidents.
The congressional panel, in its letter to Kurtz, acknowledged CrowdStrike’s response and coordination with stakeholders but emphasized the gravity of the situation, which some have labeled as the most significant IT outage in history. The panel has asked Kurtz to schedule a hearing with the subcommittee by Wednesday.
“CrowdStrike is actively in contact with relevant Congressional Committees. Briefings and other engagement timelines may be disclosed at members’ discretion,” a company spokesperson said.
Why It Matters: The recent global outage has had significant repercussions for CrowdStrike . Shares of the company fell sharply, dropping over 11% on Friday and continuing to decline on Monday. Analysts from Guggenheim and BTIG downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral, reflecting concerns over the company’s handling of the incident.
Experts predict that the financial impact of the outage could exceed $1 billion, with potential demands for compensation and legal actions looming. Dan Ives, a tech analyst for Wedbush Securities, noted that CrowdStrike’s legal team might face a challenging summer as they navigate the fallout.
Despite the negative impact, some analysts, including Jim Cramer, have praised CrowdStrike’s response to the crisis. CEO George Kurtz promptly acknowledged the issue, attributing it to a defect in a single content update and clarifying that it was not a security breach or cyberattack.
The outage has also raised concerns about CrowdStrike’s pricing and renewal strategies. The company’s stock faced further downgrades amid worries about its ability to retain customers and maintain competitive pricing following the disruption.
Price Action: Crowdstrike stock closed at $263.91 on Monday, down 13.46%. In after-hours trading, the stock dipped further 0.34%. Over the past five days, the stock has dropped by 30.23%. However, year to date, Crowdstrike has gained 6.89%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote