CrowdStrike faces backlash as 'thank you' gift cards are blocked

CrowdStrike is facing criticism after its attempt to thank employees and partners with $10 UberEats vouchers was thwarted when Uber flagged the cards as potential fraud. The vouchers were sent to those who assisted during a global IT outage caused by a faulty software update that affected 8.5 million devices, leading to significant disruptions including flight cancellations and hospital appointment delays. Recipients reported receiving error messages indicating the vouchers had been canceled. A CrowdStrike spokesperson explained that the high usage rates triggered Uber's fraud alert, clarifying that the vouchers were not sent to customers or clients but specifically to internal teams. The incident, which occurred on July 19, is estimated to cost US Fortune 500 companies around $5.4 billion, with sectors like banking, airlines, and healthcare being particularly impacted. CrowdStrike identified a bug in its Falcon product update as the primary cause of the failure and announced plans to prevent future occurrences, including staggered rollouts and enhanced customer control over updates. Air France KLM anticipates a loss of approximately €10 million due to the incident, while Delta Air Lines has canceled over 6,000 flights since the outage, prompting an investigation by the US transportation department to protect passenger rights.