CrowdStrike issues $10 UberEats vouchers to say 'sorry' after global IT outage

Passengers wait at Toronto Pearson Airport (right) whilst screens show a blue error message at a departure floor of LaGuardia Airport in New York (bottom left). Credit: AP

CrowdStrike, whose software update caused global IT chaos last week, is facing a backlash after offering its partners a $10 (£7.75) UberEats voucher to apologise.

The cybersecurity firm admitted an update rolled out on Friday contained a bug, which grounded flights, impacted GP surgeries and pharmacies and knocked Sky News off air.

Flight cancellations set to drag on through weekend after global IT outage

Third-party agents responsible for selling and supporting CrowdStrike software were sent "heartfelt thanks and apologies" by the company, and offered credit on delivery app UberEats.

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TechCrunch reported an email sent out to partners said: "To express our gratitude, your next cup of coffee or late night snack is on us!"

The offer has drawn criticism from those highlighting that $10 (£7.75) will not go a long way towards ordering food on the delivery app.

Users have also reported the vouchers do not even work, leading some to believe they were a scam.

A CrowdStrike spokesperson confirmed to CNN the emails and coupons were legitimate, but added Uber had flagged the coupon as fraud due to "high usage rates.”

The vouchers were only sent to CrowdStrike's partners, not its customers - and the cybersecurity firm is yet to confirm whether any customers will be compensated for the disruption.

The outage may have cost Fortune 500 companies as much as $5.4bn (£4.2bn) in revenues and gross profit, according to an analysis from Parametrix, a cloud monitoring and insurance firm.

CrowdStrike is a security company that provide services to other businesses to help prevent cyber attacks - detecting and blocking hacking threats.

The company is worth more than 65 billion pounds.

CEO George Kurtz also apologised for events, saying he is “deeply sorry”, and made clear it was “not a security or cyber incident”.

In the UK, the travel misery was compounded as more than 330 scheduled arrival and departure flights were cancelled.

Banks and supermarkets also reported widespread issues to services, with Waitrose and cafe chain Gail's among those impacted.

An NHS spokesperson said the majority of GP practices were affected, with one NHS trust declaring a critical incident.

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